Women Who Changed the World

Wowmhoen

CHANGED
the

World
The monarchs, minds and military

leaders who de ed the odds

CONTENTSWOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
They say history is written by the winners, but for
the most part it has also been written by men. Since
the dawn of time, the ‘stronger sex’ has dominated
society, but every now and again a woman has
broken free of the shackles to prove themselves
every bit as capable of changing the world.

Alicea Francis Editor

04 ElizabethI 38 Cleopatra

Step inside the turbulent The truth behind Egypt’s most

reign of the Tudor queen famous female pharaoh

16 Boudica 46 JoanofArc

How an Ancient British tribal 19 myths busted about the

leader took on the Romans Medieval warrior

24 AdaLovelace 54 EmmelinePankhurst 38
54
Discover the world’s first The life of the Suffragette and

computer programmer political activist exposed

28 QueenVictoria 58 AnneBoleyn

Brittania ruled the waves How one woman changed the

under this great monarch face of England forever

37 DianFossey 66 AmeliaEarhart

5 things you never knew about Inside her flying career and

the conservation heroine mysterious disappearance

46

Be part of history www.historyanswers.co.uk /AllAboutHistory @AboutHistoryMag

2

66
28

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3

ELIZABETH I

British, 1533 – 1603

Elizabeth assumed

BBriioef the throne after the
death of her Catholic
sister Mary, upon

which she faced an

unstable nation torn

apart by religious conflict.

Over the course of her reign she

fought enemies at home and

abroad, uniting England under

one church and oversaw the

exploration of new lands.

4

ELIZABETHTHE TURBULENT REIGN OF
She fought off foreign invasions and
domestic rebellions but did she really

preside over a golden age?

Written by Jonathan Hatfull

LEANDA In 1588, against the advice of her most
DE LISLE trusted aides, Elizabeth I rode out
on her grey gelding to address her
De Lisle is troops gathered at Tilbury in Essex in
the author of preparation of repelling the expected
numerous books invasion force of the Spanish Armada. Looking out
including After at the assembled faces before her, she delivered
Elizabeth and The a speech that would go down in history and for
Sisters Who Would many would forever define her: “I know I have
Be Queen, which was a top ten the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the
best-seller. Her latest book is heart and stomach of a king – and of a king of
Tudor; The Family Story and England too.”
is published by Chatto and is
available now. The speech would have to be transcribed and
redistributed for the soldiers who were unable
to hear the Queen but they had all seen their
monarch, armoured and on her steed, ready to
stand by them to repel the Catholic invasion.
This image of Elizabeth has been the key to our
popular perception of her for centuries, but there’s
much more to her. Elizabeth was cunning and
capricious, but she could be blinded by affection,

5

ELIZABETH

if only temporarily. She was tremendously clever, Although both parents had been desperate for a
with an almost unfailing sense of what her boy, Anne would be a doting mother to her infant
people wanted or needed from her, but had to child, but she was sent to the executioner’s block
see off foreign invasion attempts and homegrown in 1536 after failing to produce a male heir for her
rebellions. While she was sitting on the throne king. Although Henry’s third wife Jane Seymour
of England the country became acquainted with was kind to Elizabeth and Mary, she had her own
some of its greatest triumphs and darkest hours. child to attend to with the birth of her son and
Henry’s heir, Edward. Henry himself would not
When Elizabeth came to the throne in see much of Elizabeth until 1542, when he decided
November 1558, the whole of Europe was on the time had come to reacquaint himself with his
tenterhooks. How would the new Protestant queen young daughter. He found her to be intelligent and
follow the reign of her Catholic sister Mary? With charming, and decided that he would reinstate
an unstable nation and conspiracies at home both Mary and Elizabeth back into his lineage.
and abroad, the situation required diplomacy,
intelligence and bravery; three qualities of which In 1543, Henry married Catherine Parr, his
Elizabeth had always had in ample supply. In last wife, and relations within the royal family
fact, the unstable situation was nothing new to warmed, as Mary took a maternal interest in
her; Elizabeth’s position had been precarious young Edward, while Elizabeth enjoyed a sisterly
from the moment she was born. The daughter relationship with both. However, when Edward
of Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, she took the throne upon their father’s death, cracks
was immediately deemed as illegitimate by any started to form. First, Elizabeth had to contend
Catholic nations, who regarded the king’s divorce with the amorous attentions of Catherine’s new
of Catherine of Aragon as illegal. In their eyes, husband Thomas Seymour, which caused a
Catherine’s daughter Mary was the only rightful scandal at court in 1548. Seymour’s intentions
heir to the throne. were seen as treasonous, and Elizabeth was

“She was tremendously clever, with an
almost unfailing sense of what her
people wanted, or needed from her”

HOW GOOD WAS ELIZABETH
AT BALANCING THE BOOKS?
Borrowing
While the popular image is that Mary left England in m16tohnecyenintutrhye
a sorry state, Leanda de Lisle explains that Elizabeth’s
fiscal behaviour was far from immaculate. Mary left Before the English merchant Thomas
England £227,000 in debt, while her sister produced Gresham came to prominence, the
debts of £350,000. “Mary’s reign was not a ‘disaster’. Tudors had borrowed money from
The popular image of Mary – always 'Bloody Mary', the great European banks such as the
rarely Mary I – has been greatly influenced by a Antwerp Exchange. However, these
combination of sexual and religious prejudice,” explains banks charged a high interest rate and it
De Lisle: “Mary I had named Elizabeth as her heir, was generally acknowledged that going
despite her personal feelings towards her sister, and so around Europe borrowing money did
allowed the crown to be inherited peacefully. Elizabeth nothing to improve England’s image as
continued to refuse to name anyone. In 1562, believing a serious power. Money could also be
she was dying, she asked for Robert Dudley to be borrowed from independent merchants,
made Lord Protector with an income of £20,000.” such as Horatio Palavicino, who
Elizabeth was notoriously reluctant to engage in Elizabeth was forced to borrow money
warfare because of its costs and risk, but the Spanish from late in her reign. Gresham had
conflict dragged on for years, while she awarded previously helped Edward VI rid himself
monopolies to her favourites at court and crops failed. of most of his debts and founded the
“While we remember Elizabeth’s success in repelling Royal Exchange in 1571 to challenge the
the Armada in 1588," says De Lisle, "We forget that the power of Antwerp.
war continued and impoverished the country and the
crown, a situation made worse by the corruption of Now that Elizabeth could seek loans
court officials including notorious high-ranking figures from within her realm, she was able to
such as Robert Cecil. People starved in the 1590s and exert greater pressure to get what she
the elite even began to fear possible revolution.” wanted, while Parliament could grant
her more funds if they wanted. Later in
Verdict her reign, she began to use increasingly
severe taxation, which contributed to
Elizabeth was forced to deal with circumstances her decreasing popularity.
beyond her control, such as poor harvests and an
ongoing conflict with Spain, but the fact is that she was
not the financial marvel many believe her to be.

Queen Elizabeth I opening the Royal Exchange

6

ELIZABETH

Picture depicting WAS A RELIGIOUS COMPROMISE MET?
the coronation of
Elizabeth I in 1558

Portrait of Mary The Church of England was one of compromise and VS
Queen of Scots, who middle ground. While she herself was a Protestant, Catholic C of E
was executed after she didn’t hold the puritanical beliefs of some of
being found guilty her council members. She introduced the Act of 1 The services were 1 The image of the
of plotting against Supremacy in 1558, which reaffirmed England’s held in Latin, minister became much
Elizabeth I separation from Rome and established her as the head countermanding the simpler. They were not
of the Church. Elizabeth understood the dangers of
reported to be pregnant. The young princess trying to impose religion and allowed Catholicism to reformation’s ideal that allowed to wear Roman
denied these rumours, confounding her continue, provided it took place in secret.
interrogator. “She hath a very good wit and everyone should be able Catholic vestments, such
nothing is gotten of her but by great policy,” he However, Leanna de Lisle reminds us that we should
wrote. This practice would serve her well once not forget Elizabeth’s willingness to crack down when to understand. The English as the surplice.
Mary took the throne but not all players were necessary. “Elizabeth’s conservatism and pragmatism
as skilled in the game of thrones; Seymour was has seen her described as a religious moderate, in prayer book was banned. 2 All rood lofts, a
executed the following year. contrast to the ‘fanatical’ Mary,” she explains. “But as screen portraying the
the new Protestant queen of a largely Catholic country 2 Church furnishings crucifixion, a common
When the staunchly Catholic Mary refused to Elizabeth was necessarily moderate, and as her reign were restored to their
convert, Edward began proceedings to remove grew longer, she proved that, like Mary, she could be former lavish state and feature in Catholic
both his sisters from the line to the throne, fixing utterly ruthless when faced by a threat. The hundreds
his hopes on his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, instead. of executions of villagers following the Northern the buildings were now churches, were removed.
However, the prince was seldom in good health Rebellion far exceeded anything her predecessors had
during his short life, so it was no surprise that he done in similar circumstances; her later persecution decorated completely with The Pope was not the
died before the contract could be finalised and of Catholics was also relentless and cruel. It is a little-
Mary became the new queen of England. Just as known fact that she also burned heretics – namely Catholic artwork. head of the church.
Edward had asked Mary to change her faith, the Anabaptists – these were far fewer in number than
new queen was determined that her sister should Mary’s victims, but then there weren’t that many 3Catholic Mass was 3The Bishop’s Bible,
convert. She acquiesced without enthusiasm, Anabaptists!" She executed both Protestants and reintroduced, and Holy which was in English
but it was clear to both Protestants and Catholics Catholics for publicly disobeying the laws of the Communion was now rather than Latin, was
that her true allegiance still lay with her father’s Church of England. However, events in Europe show
Church of England rather than the Pope’s Catholic the English queen in a much more favourable light. banned by law. restored, opening it up to
Church. Over the course of Mary’s reign, many Comparatively, Elizabeth was extremely tolerant.
conspiracy plots were designed to get Elizabeth The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in Paris showed 4The clergy were not a wider readership.
onto the throne. None of them succeeded, but the fervour with which Catholic Europeans detested allowed to marry.
they did almost manage to get her killed. Protestants. She was also much more tolerant than Priests who had married 4There was a
many of her advisors. general removal of
In 1554, Thomas Wyatt attempted a rebellion before the new law came 'superstition', such as
following the announcement that Mary would Verdict
marry the Spanish king Philip. The queen’s into effect were given a making the sign of the
reprisal was brutal and swift, executing not Elizabeth successfully found a moderate middle
only the ringleaders, but Jane Grey as well. ground in a very turbulent time, but would crack down choice of two options: cross during communion.
Elizabeth claimed ignorance, a trick she mercilessly if the rules she had laid down were broken.
managed to successfully repeat a year later after Leave their families or lose Simplicity was what the

their job. Puritans strived for.

“The queen's reprisal was brutal
and swift, executing not only the
ringleaders, but also Jane Grey”

another attempted rebellion in 1555, but her overtly Protestant or Catholic gestures, Elizabeth
sister’s patience was wearing thin and Elizabeth managed to confound them all. Instead, the
was placed in the Tower of London, with some emphasis was elsewhere: Elizabeth’s intention to
Catholic supporters clamouring for her execution. restore England to a state of prosperity. The new
Elizabeth’s future prospects were looking anything queen knew that if she was to have any chance of
but golden, and the next few months saw her surviving her early years she would need trusted
walking a political tightrope. Mary, desperate and astute advisors, and chose William Cecil and
to provide her husband and her country with a Robert Dudley. Cecil had worked for Edward,
Catholic heir to end the uncertainty surrounding survived the reign of Mary and was fiercely loyal
the throne, announced that she was pregnant, to Elizabeth. In contrast, Dudley’s appointment and
but by 1558, it became clear that Mary’s condition favour with the queen had nothing to do with his
was not pregnancy, but a devastating illness. Her abilities as a politician. He had known Elizabeth
health broke quickly, and she died on 17 November since childhood and her affection for him had only
of that year after begging Elizabeth to keep grown stronger, and rumours abounded that she
England Catholic once she took the throne. Her spent the nights as well as the days with him.
wishes would not be fulfilled.
Cecil disapproved of Dudley and agreed with
Elizabeth’s coronation was a stunning balancing the majority of Parliament that Elizabeth should
act. With countless eyes waiting for any hint of an marry as soon as possible. The eyes of France and

7

ELIZABETH

DID ELIZABETH HAVE A GENUINE Spain were fixed on England and it made sense for
THIRST FOR NEW WORLDS? the queen to create a marriage alliance with one
of these major powers for her and the country’s
Although the expansion of trade into India occurred named after her: Virginia. The first party safety. King Philip made no secret of his desire
during Elizabeth’s reign, in terms of exploration launched, and Raleigh would follow. When to marry Elizabeth, but she had no interest in
she is best remembered for England’s attempt the nobleman arrived, he saw the settlement marrying Mary’s former husband. Henry of Anjou
to colonise North America. The Spanish and had failed. The English were desperate to was suggested as a match, but he was still a child.
Portuguese had already laid claim to much of South leave. Raleigh’s second attempt was intended Elizabeth spoke instead of being married to her
America, establishing lucrative trade routes, but for Chesapeake Bay, but the first group, led nation, but scandal struck when Dudley’s wife Amy
North America was relatively unexplored. Elizabeth by John White, returned to Roanoke. Raleigh died suddenly after apparently falling down the
was reluctant to fund exploratory voyages for much arrived with his second group and found no stairs in 1560. It was rumoured that Dudley had
the same reasons that she was reluctant to fund trace of survivors. Elizabeth was disappointed committed the deed for his queen, and Elizabeth
wars: they were expensive and risky. However, she that these costly ventures yielded no results. was forced to expel him from her court.
could be won around with the promise of riches There was one purpose to these expeditions, as
from one of her favourites and, when sailor Davy de Lisle explains very simply: “Making money.” In 1561, Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary Queen of
Ingram returned to England with alluring tales of Scots, returned to Scotland from France. For
riches and simple inhabitants, geographer Richard Verdict many Catholics, Mary was the true successor and
Hakluyt began plotting a serious expedition to be she did little to downplay those clamouring for a
led by Walter Raleigh. The Elizabethan era’s reputation for exploration Catholic monarch. Her arrival was perfectly timed,
is largely due to the fact that there was money as Elizabeth was on the verge of death due to
With the promise of fortune and the flattery to be made from it. Piratical ventures were smallpox. However, she recovered and, with the
of Raleigh, she agreed to a trip to form a colony profitable; colonisation was not. scandal over Dudley dissipating, Elizabeth chose
him to be Lord Protector, bringing him back into
her court, before shocking everyone by suggesting

“The Queen rallied
the English troops by
declaring that she would
fight by their side to repel
anyone who dared to set
foot on their land”

2. 1585

Following a positive
report, Raleigh dispatches
colonists to settle at
Roanoke in Virginia. By
the time he arrives on a
later ship, the crops have
failed and the English are
desperate to leave.

3. 1587 1. 1584

Raleigh tries again to Walter Raleigh and Richard
establish a colony at Hakluyt convince Elizabeth
Chesapeake Bay, but to fund an expedition to
instead the settlers travel explore the possibility that
to Roanoke. When Raleigh a colony could be founded
arrives, all 150 colonists have on America’s east coast.
disappeared, with only a
single skeleton remaining.

8

ELIZABETH

a marriage between him and Mary. This was had begun. As the rebel forces marched south, If Elizabeth’s position at home appeared shaky
Elizabeth showing her political astuteness; she Elizabeth moved Mary to Coventry and mustered it was positively stable compared to how she
knew well that Scotland with a Catholic heir troops of her own. The southern Earls rallied to was viewed abroad. The Pope decreed that anyone
would have too much power, but a heir produced her cause, which stunned the rebel forces, who who murdered the heretical English queen would
by her favourite and Mary Queen of Scots could began to retreat. Elizabeth’s victory was quick and be forgiven, a statement King Philip took to
potentially unite the two countries. However, decisive, with 700 men being executed in a brutal heart. Not wanting to risk open war, Elizabeth
Dudley refused and Mary had no interest in display of power. Norfolk was placed under arrest, found other ways to aggravate her enemies. She
marrying her cousin’s paramour. but a lack of concrete evidence postponed his quietly patronised the piratical exploits of John
execution, until he was implicated in the Ridolfi Hawkins and later his cousin Francis Drake. In
Instead, Mary married for love, choosing Lord plot, which aimed to make Philip II king. Elizabeth 1577, when he planned to travel to South America
Henry Darnley. Seeing this may have prompted ordered and rescinded Norfolk’s execution three to raid Spanish gold, Elizabeth met Drake with
Elizabeth to renew her interest in Dudley, times – a prime example of how indecisive she Walsingham, one of her French ambassadors.
which greatly upset the council, in particular could be at times – before finally deciding that he
the ambitious Lord Norfolk. When the tension simply had to die. The cautious Cecil had to be kept in the dark,
between Norfolk and Dudley grew too great, but she told Drake explicitly that she supported
Elizabeth understood that she needed to assert
her authority. “I will have here but one mistress
and no master,” she told Dudley. It was both a
political statement and a personal one. The lack of
a husband and heir was only made worse in 1566
when Mary gave birth to a son, James, but she
was desperately unhappy. Darnley was a violent,
drunken husband who many believed brutally
murdered her secret lover, David Rizzio. Darnley
would meet his own nasty end a year later, when
he was found strangled in the garden of a house.
Mary quickly married the Earl of Bothwell, the
man who had allegedly murdered Darnley, and
Scottish forces rose against her. Imprisoned
and forced to abdicate, she eventually fled to
England. Elizabeth agreed to give Mary shelter,
but her arrival in the north had given Catholics a
figurehead and rebellion brewed.

The northern Earls suggested that Norfolk
should marry Mary: soon, the Northern Rebellion

The return of Mary Queen
of Scots to Edinburgh

Queen Elizabeth I knighting Francis Drake in 1581

9

ELIZABETH

him: “I would gladly be revenged on the King MAIN PLAYERS OF
of Spain for diverse injuries I have received.”
Having sailed through the Straits of Magellan Council and Government
and captured a Spanish ship carrying up to
£200,000 in gold, Drake decided to sail across WILLIAM CECIL ROBERT DUDLEY FRANCIS
the Pacific, in the process becoming the first man WALSINGHAM
to circumnavigate the globe. Elizabeth gloried in 1520 98 1532 88
his achievement, and when she met the Spanish 1532 90
ambassador in 1581, she pointedly wore a crucifix A canny political operator who Dudley had known Elizabeth
Drake had given to her from the loot. She dined understood the difficulties since childhood, and was her The Protestant Walsingham was
with Drake on the Golden Hind and knighted him. that were ahead, Cecil was first love. His appointment allowed to return to England
He had done her proud. Elizabeth’s first appointment to court had more to do with after Mary’s death, and quickly
and was fiercely loyal, her affection for him than became one of Elizabeth’s most
These piratical exploits stood in sharp contrast dedicating his life to helping her. any outstanding abilities as invaluable assets. A brilliant
to the events of 1572. The St Bartholomew’s Day Although he believed she should a politician, however, and his spymaster and politician, he
Massacre in Paris – the assassination of a number marry, Elizabeth knew Cecil was presence at court proved to understood the threat that
of French Calvinist Protestants – shocked England invaluable and pressured him be a continual source of Mary Queen of Scots posed,
and the ambassador Sir Francis Walsingham into staying on, even when he rumour and scandal. Their and engineered her downfall.
was forced to take refuge. Elizabeth brought was sickly and deaf. relationship was rocky and He also supported Drake and
him back to London to become her spymaster, driven by passion. Raleigh’s explorations.
where he advised that Mary Queen of Scots
was a real danger. The uprising was not only a Family
shocking scene for English Protestants; it was also
a sign that the Protestant Netherlands and their HENRY VIII MARY TUDOR CATHERINE
booming wool trade would soon be in danger. PARR
When William the Silent asked Elizabeth for 1491 1547 1516 58
military assistance, she did not want to be seen 1512 48
to intervene and give Philip of Spain an excuse Henry was desperate for a Despite their differences, Mary,
to attack. Walsingham counselled war, while boy to carry on his family Elizabeth and their brother Catherine and Elizabeth
Cecil continued to preach marriage. So Elizabeth name, and was disappointed Edward had a relatively close became close during her
entertained the idea of marrying the Duke of when Anne Boleyn gave him relationship as children. When marriage to Henry, and
Anjou, roughly ten years after it had first been Elizabeth. He was absent for she became queen, Mary Elizabeth lived with Catherine
suggested. Then, he had been an ugly youth much of her childhood, but was was desperate for Elizabeth after his death. However,
and she had been a beautiful queen. Now, she kept informed of her progress to convert and unable to Catherine’s husband Thomas
was visibly older and the flattery of the French nonetheless. When he finally understand why she wouldn’t. Seymour was more interested
ambassador and Anjou’s letters began to win met his daughter he was very She came close to executing in their young charge than his
her over. When they finally met, it appeared impressed, so much so that he her sister, but abstained, finally wife, and she assisted in his
that Elizabeth really was in love, but there were reinstated her and Mary into requesting that she keep attempts at seduction, dying
genuine concerns over how the English people his legacy. England Catholic. soon after they failed.
would react.

“The anxieties Elizabeth expressed to the
emissary of Mary Queen of Scots in 1561, that she
too could not marry anyone without triggering
unrest in one group or another, only deepened
following Mary Queen of Scots’s disastrous
marriages to Darnley and then Bothwell – which
ended in her overthrow,” explains Leanda de
Lisle, author of Tudor: The Family Story. “Elizabeth
continued to look publicly for a husband to fulfil
national expectations that she would provide
them with an undisputed heir, and surely she
hoped it was not impossible. She was married
to her kingdom – a phrase she had learned
from Mary Tudor. But while Mary had married,
Elizabeth did not because she feared revolt by
those who disapproved of her choice.”

Although she clearly wanted to marry the man
that she had nicknamed her “frog,” the English
people found the idea of their Virgin Queen
marrying a French Catholic absolutely repulsive.
When a pamphlet appeared that condemned the
union, Elizabeth decreed that both the author
and his printer should have their right hands
cut off. Her Privy Council was split in half, with
the jealous Robert Dudley vehemently opposed.

10

ELIZABETH

THE GOLDEN AGE “she bitterly
resented the
Explorers circumstances of
Mary’s execution”
JOHN HAWKINS FRANCIS DRAKE WALTER
RALEIGH Elizabeth was heartbroken, but she agreed to
1532 95 1540 96 abstain. She gave Anjou £10,000 to continue his
1554 1618 war against Philip in the Netherlands, but did not
Hawkins may have possessed Having sailed on his cousin see him again. He tried to take power for himself
a coat of arms, but he first John Hawkins’ expeditions, Raleigh gained Elizabeth’s but failed and died a year later.
managed to find favour with Francis Drake had no love favour at court and quickly set
the Queen as a pirate. With for the Spanish. He was his sights on expanding her When William the Silent was assassinated in
Elizabeth’s implicit permission, willing to circumnavigate the empire. He decided he would his own house in 1584 by a Catholic fanatic, it
he planned and executed a globe in order to rob them establish Britain’s first colony was clear that military intervention could not
series of daring raids on Spanish of their riches and deliver in North America, and told be put off any longer and so in 1585, to the relief
ports in the West Indies, but them to Elizabeth, who was the Queen it would be named of her impatient councillors, she agreed to send
after a disastrous third voyage delighted with his exploits, after her: Virginia. To his great a small force of men. Dudley took command in
he returned to England, where and continued to commission dismay, the colony at Roanoke the Netherlands but proved to be incompetent,
he began working for the Queen him to undertake raids on failed. He is often falsely losing territory to Philip’s general, the Duke of
in a more direct capacity. Spanish ports. credited with bringing potatoes Parma. Mary was now more dangerous than
and tobacco to England. ever. Elizabeth ordered her imprisonment at
the urging of Francis Walsingham, who had no
Enemies intention of allowing her to live much longer. He
arranged for a servant, one of his own spies, to
suggest that Mary smuggle letters in beer barrels,
allowing Walsingham to read everything. When
Thomas Babingdon wrote to Mary with a plan to
assassinate Elizabeth and give her the crown Mary
wrote back with her approval; the spymaster’s trap
had worked perfectly, and he had ensnared his
unwitting prey.

Walsingham leapt into action and ordered the
conspirators’ execution. Elizabeth had always been
reluctant to execute her cousin, but she agreed
she would have to stand trial. It was no surprise
when the court decided that Mary should be put
to death. Elizabeth grieved for Mary, or at least
lamented her death. The man who had delivered
the warrant was imprisoned and stripped of his
title. Elizabeth was
always reluctant
to sign a
death

KING PHILIP II JOHN WHITGIFT POPE PIUS V

1527 1598 1530 1604 1504 72

The main religious threat to As the issue of religious As the head of the Roman
Elizabeth for the majority of tolerance became increasingly Catholic Church, Pope Pius V
her realm came from the King difficult to manage, Elizabeth saw Elizabeth’s status of
of Spain. The Pope might have hand-picked her old chaplain Queen of England and head
given the bull that deposed for the role of Archbishop of of its church not only as an
Elizabeth but the fiercely Canterbury. He was a stubborn affront to his religion, but
Catholic Philip was the man with man, as evidenced by his refusal as an act of heresy. He went
the army that could enforce it. to leave England during Queen as far as to issue a Papal
He had attempted to woo the Mary’s reign. Like Elizabeth, he Bull on 27 April 1570, which
princess while still married to was a Conformist and ruthlessly declared that her subjects no
her sister but, once rebuffed, punished those who publicly longer owed her any kind
relentlessly opposed her. strayed from the 'right' path. of allegiance.

Mary Queen of Scots being led to her death

11

ELIZABETH

Defeat of the Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada warrant – or at least she was reluctant to be seen
is put into disarray to sign it. We can’t know how much of Elizabeth’s
12 by English fire ships grief was genuine, but she bitterly resented the
on 8 August 1588 circumstances of Mary’s execution.

The gun-crew on “Elizabeth was reluctant to be seen to execute
an Elizabethan first the senior nobleman in England, in Norfolk,
ship – she funded and then a fellow queen, in Mary,” says de Lisle:
the journeys of “That is not to say she regretted their deaths. She
numerous privateers would have preferred to have Mary murdered, for
example, as she made very clear. It is also notable
that she was quite ruthless in ordering the deaths
of traitors of humble birth – the 900 or so executed
after the Northern Rebellion testifies to that. This
was three times the numbers Henry VIII had
executed after the far more serious Pilgrimage of
Grace, and ten times the numbers Mary executed
after Wyatt’s revolt.”

Mary’s execution provided Philip II with the
reason he needed to declare war and his Spanish
Armada co-ordinated with the Duke of Parma’s
forces in the Netherlands, with the two forces
meeting before sailing on England. They launched
on 12 July 1588, their forces possessing more than
twice the number of English ships, but the English
ships did have some advantages; they were smaller,
faster, and designed to carry guns rather than
men. The English ships could outmanoeuvre the

“With the threat of a
catholic force at their
door, the Queen rallied the
spirits of the english troops”

ELIZABETH

DID ENGLAND BECOME A
NATION TO BE FEARED?

Elizabeth’s foreign policy was decidedly more these grounds, which is why her courtiers were so
cautious than expansive. She was desperate to avoid anxious that Elizabeth marry an eligible man from
conflict because it was expensive and the outcome either country. Even after the St Bartholomew’s
always uncertain. However, she had a spirit that Day Massacre in 1572, Elizabeth was reluctant to
could easily be won over by the idea of adventure. be drawn into open war. The piecemeal way in
She delighted in the expeditions of John Hawkins and which she gave the Dutch her assistance shows
Francis Drake, which could be seen to be aggravating her reluctance to engage in open conflict of any
the King of Spain without actually declaring open kind, first offering financial support to the Dutch
conflict. In 1562, she agreed to a military expedition troops, then the Duke of Anjou, before finally
in Calais, which was crushed by Catherine de’ agreeing to send an English force when there was
Medici’s forces, and this failure would influence her no other option. Her cautious attitude towards
military decisions for the rest of her reign. foreign policy doubtless saved the kingdom a lot
of money. However, it was taken out of her hands
“There was no glory in it for Elizabeth as there when the Spanish Armada sailed on England.”
was for a male monarch,” Leanda de Lisle reveals:
“She understood the truth of the adage of Mary Verdict
of Hungary: that war made it impossible for a
woman to rule effectively, ‘all she can do is shoulder The victory against the Armada was a shining
responsibility for mistakes committed by others.’” moment but for the most part Elizabeth kept
out of foreign conflict. When she didn’t, she
Her ally and enemy lines were drawn by religion. regularly suffered defeats.
France and Spain were clearly opposed to England on

Spanish fleet in open water and began to engage Why did the 6. Bad weather
them in small skirmishes. It was at this point that Armada fail?
Elizabeth rode out to meet her troops. With the Bad weather prevents the
threat of a Catholic force at their door, the Queen King Philip amassed his Armada and sent them to the Spanish fleet from organising
rallied the spirit of the English troops by declaring Netherlands to join up with his ground troops, led by and the English pursue them.
that she would fight by their side to repel anyone the Duke of Parma. The English outposts saw the ships Their ships are faster and
who dared to set foot on their land. coming and alerted the admiralty. The weather was much more effective.
against the Spanish, as they were blown off course.
This grandstanding was impressive and may While they outnumbered the British fleet by two 3. Early warning
have gone down in history’s annals but was to one, the Spanish ships were enormous, built
ultimately unnecessary. The Spanish Armada to carry troops that could board enemy vessels. The Armada is sighted west
failed and Elizabeth’s victory was the seal on Their crescent formation was famous, but it did of the English Channel. The
her status. ‘The Golden Age’ had begun, where little against the smaller English ships. When English fleet is put to sea
art and literature flowered. With England a the English sent fireships into the Spanish as the south coast warning
visibly powerful state, the aristocracy began to fleet, the enemy panicked and scattered. beacons are lit. Legend says
patronise the arts with great abandon. The famous They managed to regroup for one that Sir Francis Drake finishes
playwrights of the age enjoyed patronage, albeit confrontation, and lost. The Spanish his game of bowls first.
with some caveats. When Shakespeare wrote retreated, with many crashing on the
Richard II he was encouraged to remove a scene rocks of the English and Irish coastline.
suggesting the ageing monarch should step aside.
“Elizabeth did not care for plays,” confirms de 7. Ships wrecked 4. Rendezvous
Lisle: “All too often they were used to lecture her
on this or that.” The weather blows the The Armada sails
Spanish fleet into the North to Calais to meet
Her crown may have been safe for now, but Sea and they are forced to Philip’s most revered
she received devastating blows with the deaths retreat up England’s east general, the Duke of
of two of her most trusted advisors, Dudley and coast, beyond Scotland and Parma. However, he
Walsingham. Dudley was replaced at court by down past Ireland. Many is delayed and they
his handsome stepson, the Earl of Essex, and the ships are wrecked. are forced to wait.
young flatterer quickly became her favourite.
“Robert Dudley’s death in 1588 signalled the 2. Delays
passing of the old order, but Elizabeth still hoped
she could continue ruling according to her motto, Severe weather
‘Semper Eadem’ (‘Always the same’)” explains de forces Philip to dock
Lisle. “As the years began to pass and her servants in Coruna to make
died she either did not replace them or find a repairs to his fleet.
near-equivalent to the servant she had lost.” It’s He is delayed by
more than a month.

1. Armada sets sail 5. Fireships

On 28 May 1588, Philip is ready Spanish commanders
to begin his invasion of England. panic when the English
He gathers his Armada and they navy sends fireships in
sail from Lisbon. among their vessels. They
scatter into the English
line of fire but the losses
are not too heavy.

13

ELIZABETH

a sign of how much she leaned on her old guard dramatic head when he half-drew his sword on Tyrone on the battlefield, he met him in secret and

that she continued to place her trust in William her in a fit of pique. returned to England having made a treaty without

Cecil, even though he was almost entirely deaf The arts and literature may have been the queen’s authority.

and increasingly ill. It was only when he died flourishing, but those who subscribe to this being When Essex thought Cecil was plotting against

in 1598 that Elizabeth finally agreed to appoint a golden age in England’s history often forget him, he rushed to plead his case. Assuming he

Robert Cecil to his father’s old post. When it that even after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, was still the queen’s favourite, he burst into her

became known that the Spanish were attempting other uprisings, such as the 1598 Irish rebellion, bedchamber while she was preparing for the

to rebuild their fleet, Essex led a fleet on Cadiz occurred. The country had long been a problem day. He had seen Elizabeth without her make-up

and decimated their forces in port. The success for Tudor England, which had attempted to and regal dressing; not as a queen but as an old

gave Essex fame, something Elizabeth was taken impose English values and had seen the Irish as woman. She could not afford to be seen like this.

aback by. She tried to curb him, aware that her tenants on English territory. Now, with a Spanish- The queen dismissed him before summoning

standing among the people was her greatest asset, backed uprising, Elizabeth needed to take decisive him later to confront him with his failures and

but Essex continued to promote his own celebrity. action. She sent her army at the start of 1599, led strip him of power. Rather than accepting his fate,

She became more and more frustrated with his by Essex, who was looking to prove himself once Essex attempted rebellion. He assumed Londoners

outrageous behaviour at court, which came to a more. He was a disaster. Rather than confronting would back the popular war hero, but Elizabeth

proclaimed him a traitor and sent her troops to

DID PEACE REIGN IN ENGLAND? meet him. The rebellion was a failure and Essex
Rebellions was executed as a traitor.
The early years of Elizabeth’s reign were extremely Ealgizaainbestth
unstable. The Catholics regarded her as a heretical Although the later years of Elizabeth’s reign were
bastard without a just claim to the throne, and she had to far from golden, she could still rally her people
prove to her people that she was capable of ruling alone. when needed. The war in Ireland was expensive
Conspiracies at home and abroad plotted to remove her and unsuccessful, while overcrowding and failed
harvests caused agitation. When Parliament
from the throne, and when Mary, Queen of Scots took When Elizabeth ascended to the throne she publicly condemned her for granting monopolies
to her favourite courtiers, which had led to price-
refuge in England, her Catholic enemies finally had someone immediately faced the threat of rebellion fixing, Elizabeth was forced to address them in
1601. She agreed to put a stop to the monopolies
to rally around. 1569 saw her face the first real uprising from the Catholic nobility, who resented and she reaffirmed her love for England. She
won over Parliament, there was a good harvest,
with the Northern Rebellion. The Earls of Westmorland and the fact that she was turning away from and a truce was reached in Ireland and Spain.
“Elizabeth, old and ill, did lose some of her former
Northumberland rallied the rebel aristocracy around them, the changes made by her sister Mary. The grip, but never entirely,” states de Lisle. “She had
followed Mary I’s example in wooing the common
but they were not prepared for the force of her reprisal. first great uprising came in 1569, when the people from the beginning of her reign, and they
continued to support her.”
In her later years she saw rebellion rear its head again northern noblemen took advantage of the
Having seen off another uprising, the 50-year-old
as Essex overstepped his bounds. With famine and return of Mary, Queen of Scots to England, monarch’s health was failing and after an all-too-
rare period of good health, Elizabeth grew sickly.
overcrowded of cities, Elizabeth’s position became unstable and attempted to overthrow her. The Duke She was desperately frustrated by Cecil’s growing

once again. “Imagine if Elizabeth had died in October 1562 of Norfolk, unhappy with being sidelined by “She wooed her people
with smiles, words
when she had smallpox,” asks de Lisle: “Elizabeth had the Earl of Dudley, entertained a marriage plot of love and great

been on the throne almost four years: only a year short of with Mary, while the northern Earls mounted showmanship, and so
won their hearts”
her sister’s reign. If she died, as many feared she would, rebellion. It was summarily crushed and

how would her reign have been remembered? Elizabeth’s hundreds were executed.

religious settlement was not viewed as settled by anyone The Earl of Essex, Elizabeth’s great

save the Queen. One of her own bishops called it ‘a leaden favourite, attempted a rebellion in 1601 after

mediocrity’. In military matters, while Mary I’s loss of Calais he was stripped of his powers in an attempt

is still remembered, Elizabeth’s failed efforts to recover to gain power. In line with his apparently

Calais by taking Le Havre and using it as a bargaining tool oversized ego, he overestimated his personal

are completely forgotten. The campaign had ended that popularity, the people’s dissatisfaction with

August 1562, with the huge loss of 2,000 men.” their monarch and his Queen’s capacity for

Verdict forgiveness for one of her former favourites.
When Elizabeth was confronted with open

Elizabeth’s reign featured numerous rebellions and defiance she rarely hesitated to crush it. She

uprisings, but this was not unusual for a Tudor monarch, understood when to be brutal and when to

and given the religious uncertainty in the country at the charm. With the rebellions against her she was

time, she handled the uprisings quickly and decisively. unforgiving and generally unsparing.

ELIZABETH’S GOLDEN MOMENTS 1585 5. 1587 7. 1601

2. 1566 Elizabeth is Following famine and
forced to execute controversy over her granting
Elizabeth announces to a Mary Queen of monopolies to her favourites,
Parliament desperate to see Scots, which is Elizabeth gives her ‘Golden
her choose a husband that the final straw for Speech’ to a furious Parliament
she is married to England. Catholic Spain. and wins them over.

1550 1555 1560 1565 1570 1575 1580 1590 1595 1600 1605

1. 1559 3. 1569 4. 1577 6. 1588

Elizabeth is crowned The Northern Rebellion is Francis Drake The Spanish Armada sails for
Queen of England. crushed. Elizabeth brutally circumnavigates the globe England, but is decisively
Everyone watches to punishes those responsible and returns with boats defeated. Elizabeth delivers
see if she displays a and sends a shocking filled with riches stolen her famous Tilbury speech from
Protestant leaning but the reminder to anyone who from the King of Spain. horseback, which becomes legend.
ceremony is ambiguous. would challenge her.

14

ELIZABETH

The deathbed
of Queen Elizabeth
in 1603

power over her and refused to go to bed as she
realised that the end was coming soon. Elizabeth
finally died on 23 March 1603.

Although she had struggled to change with the
times in the face of younger advisors, she had been
a formidable political operator. She had still shown
the cunning and cleverness to understand her
situation, and had never lost the image of a queen
loved by her people.

“That image was not created for her,” explains
de Lisle. “Elizabeth never forgot the events of 1553
when the ordinary people had backed the Tudor
sisters, while the political elite had supported
Jane Grey. Nor did she forget how in 1554, Mary
had made a speech at the Guildhall that roused
London in her defence against the Wyatt rebellion.
Mary had spoken of her marriage to her kingdom,
describing her coronation ring as a wedding band,
and her love of her subjects as that of a mother
for her children. These were the phrases and
motifs Elizabeth would use repeatedly and would
become absolutely central to her reign. In addition,
Elizabeth also had an instinct for the crowd’s
demands. Even her enemies would admit she had
‘the power of enchantment’. She wooed her people
with smiles, words of love and great showmanship,
and so won their hearts. Elizabeth’s people would
never forget her. When she died and James I
become king, people hugely missed the Tudor
theatre of reciprocal love, of which Elizabeth had
been the last and brightest star.”

Elizabeth’s reign was not the golden age that
legend so often depicts; she faced serious uprisings,
both internal and external, during her reign. She
was capable of heartlessness and ruthlessness,
and could be indecisive and impetuous. During
the course of her rule, England saw famine,
rebellion and war. However, there’s no
mistaking her dedication to her country and her
determination to listen to what the people wanted
from her – and then give it to them. She walked a
political tightrope for most of her life, and the fact
that she died peacefully in her bed as queen was a
major triumph in itself. The English people loved
her, and she, in turn, loved them. In the hearts and
minds of many of her subjects, she was – and will
always be – Britain’s golden monarch.

15

Boudica Vs Rome
16

In the single-minded pursuit of
vengeance, the warrior queen of
the Iceni massacred thousands of
Romans and almost caused the

BOUDICAempire to abandon Britannia entirely
ROVMS E

Written by Erich B Anderson

W hile Boudica of the Iceni was still
mourning the death of her husband
Prasutagus, a horde of Roman agents
forced their way into her home. The
armed men seized the Celtic queen,
along with her two daughters, and dragged them
all into public view. There, before the eyes of her
people, Boudica was brutally flogged as if she were
a slave and her two virgin daughters raped. When
the violence was over, the Romans continued their
acts of cruelty on the Iceni by confiscating the
land of their chief nobles. Furious at their actions,
the queen quickly gathered her people. She would
stop at nothing until she had her revenge against
the Roman Empire.

The Roman commanders gave the orders for
these acts in 60 CE after they received the will of
recently deceased King Prasutagus. To show his
loyalty to Rome, the British ruler left half of his
kingdom to the emperor, but bequeathed the other
half to his daughters – an act of love that would
backfire in ways he could never have imagined.
According to Roman law, contracts with client
kings terminated upon their death, and thus turn
all of the possessions of the kingdom into Roman
property. Usually, this transition from a native
monarchy to Roman rule was carried out with far
less brutality, in the hope of gaining the loyalty
and allegiance of the newly conquered people.

17

Boudica Vs Rome

Yet the Romans were greatly insulted, not just in 43 CE, and the oppressive treatment of their

because Prasutagus presumed to new subjects by imperial officials had created

think he could leave such a large numerous rebels all over the island.

portion of his kingdom to his For several years after the conquest,

heirs – the shocking reaction most insurgents became a part

to his will was mostly of the full-fledged guerrilla war

because these heirs were led by Caratacus, king of the

women. While powerful Catuvellauni. After the decisive

women were relatively victories of the Romans over

common among the Britons, his forces during the invasion,

female rulers were an absurd the king learned not to face the

concept in the patriarchal society legions on the battlefield, instead

of Rome. And the Romans would using his superior knowledge of the

make their feelings about this local terrain to carry out successful

very clear. guerrilla tactics on the foreign army.

It did not take long for Though the Iceni officially

thousands of aggrieved became allies of the Roman

Britons to hear of the Empire after the conquest,

uprising of the Iceni, a faction of the Iceni also This painting depacts the massacre at Londinium,
as Boudica’s army invaded and left no one alive
as well as the atrocities participated in a minor revolt
men force their way into the homes of the Iceni
committed on Boudica and in 48 CE, when the governor and confiscated all weapons. However, when
the Iceni insurgents revolted with warriors from
her family. The Romans had Publius Ostorius Scapula the neighbouring Catuvellauni and Coritani,
they had no chance against the Roman army.
only conquered Britannia less Iceni gold coins enacted a draconian measure to Scapula quickly crushed the rebel forces when he
than 20 years before, during discourage Britons from joining stormed the Iceni hill fort they fought from and
slaughtered all of the rebels.
the reign of Emperor Claudius Caratacus. The governor had his
The Iceni had more than enough cause to rally
a“bFseumradlecorunlceerpst winerReoamne” behind their queen, but the main reason Britons
from other tribes flocked to swell her ranks was
THE ROMANS that they no longer had any major rebel army to
join. In 51 CE, Scapula continued his campaign
SPUAEGUTALOIIUNNSIUUSS AGGJUNRLIACIEUOUSLSA CPEETRIILAILUISS to quell the unrest throughout the island by
targeting its source, Caratacus. And once the
When Paulinus became the Agricola was only a military Cerialis was a young and rebel king was forced to meet the Roman army
governor of Britannia in 58 CE, tribune under Paulinus during impetuous commander when in pitched battle, the governor defeated him.
he had already proven himself the Boudican revolt. However, he first entered the historical Caratacus then fled to the court of Cartimandua,
to be a very skilled general. In his participation in the conflict queen of the Brigantes, to seek refuge. Yet instead
40 CE, he was the first Roman was one of the major reasons record as the legate of the of aiding a fellow British ruler, the queen betrayed
to lead an army over the Atlas ninth legion. Yet even after her tribal rival to the Romans, gaining much trust
that his son-in-law, Tacitus, his disastrous failure against from her overlords but losing the respect of many
Mountains in North Africa. recorded the event. Boudica, he managed to become of her people. Among those who had fallen out of
governor of Britannia in 71 CE. favour with her was Venutius, her husband.

The road to rebellion After Cartimandua divorced him in 57 CE, he
attempted to seize her kingdom from her but
was thwarted by the Roman forces that came to
the aid of their client queen. Although he would
later become the next great rebel leader, Venutius
would not make another move until more than a
decade later and remained in hiding during the
Boudican rebellion.

55 and 54 BCE 40 CE 43 CE 48 CE 50 CE

The invasions of Britannia The failed attempt The Roman conquest of Governor Publius The colonia at
by Gaius Julius Caesar of Caligula to invade Britannia. While Aulus Ostorius Scapula Camulodunum was
were the first violent Britannia. Instead of Plautius was the chief suppressed a revolt established over the
conflicts between the crossing the channel, military commander, carried out by a faction former capital of the
Romans and the Britons. the emperor ordered he patiently waited for of the Iceni, angered over Trinovantes. Native nobles
Though successful, his soldiers to gather Emperor Claudius to join the unwarranted search were appointed to oversee
no permanent Roman seashells and place him in the end and claim of their homes and the construction of the
presence was created. them in their helmets. the overall victory. seizure of their weapons. temple of Claudius.

18

Boudica Vs Rome

THE TRIBES

ICENI TRINOVANTES BRIGANTES

Location: Norfolk Location: Essex, Suffolk and parts Location: Northern England and
Leader: Boudica of Greater London the Midlands
The tribe was possibly the
Cenimagni recorded by Julius Leader: The Roman Governor Leader: Cartimandua
Caesar when he invaded in of Britannia The Romans benefited from
55 BCE. Except for the small- their alliance with Cartimandua,
scale revolt in 48 CE, the Iceni By the time of the rebellion, the as the vast territory of her tribe
remained a loyal client kingdom Trinovantes had fully become part served as a buffer zone between
until the Boudican rebellion. of the province of Britannia. The the province and hostile tribes
tribe was enraged over the colonia
further north.
at Camulodunum.

Unable to join the forces of Caratacus or This early 20th-century illustration shows LIFE UNDER
Venutius, many discontent Britons who still Romans commanded by Julius Caesar THE ROMANS
wished to make a stand against the empire invading Britain on the coast of Kent
continued to increase Boudica’s forces as she led Life was difficult for the Britons
them south into the lands of the Trinovantes. under imperial rule, particularly
Like the Iceni, the Trinovantes harboured deep during the first few decades after
resentment towards the Romans for the past the conquest. Whereas before one
decade, and so became the second major tribe king had ruled each tribe, both a
to join the revolt. While warriors from tribes all governor and a procurator managed
over Britannia rallied to the movement, none the new province of Britannia. The
of the tribes contributed as much manpower as oppression enforced by these two
the Iceni and the Trinovantes. Both tribes were officials was relentless – the Britons
so invested in the cause that their warriors were were mercilessly taxed to not only
followed by an enormous trail of carts driven by pay for the invasion of their own
their families and loaded with their possessions. lands but also to cover the costs
To restore their people’s honour, the Iceni and the of extravagant building projects
Trinovantes were willing to risk everything. like the expansion of the colonia
at Camulodunum. Additionally,
Including the women, children and elderly who attempts were made to weaken
accompanied the march, the British horde may the military might of the Britons
have increased to well over 100,000 people, with by forcing their young warriors to
a core of warriors that was tens of thousands join the Roman army on foreign
strong. Confident of overwhelming any meagre campaigns. The homes of some
force the Romans sent against her, Boudica led tribes were even ransacked and
her army towards their first target – the colonia deprived of all weapons. However,
of Camulodunum. The town was not only the several loyal client kings and
most obvious choice for the rebels to attack, as it aristocrats benefited greatly, for they
was in line to become the capital of the province, gained access to large amounts of
but its destruction was also the main reason the Mediterranean trade.
Trinovantes joined the revolt. It was imperative
the colony was burned to the ground.

Camulodunum was once the capital of the
Trinovantes until the Romans established it as a

51 CE 54 CE 57 CE 60 CE 69 CE

Caratacus Nero became Cartimandua divorced her The army The rebels of the Brigantes
was defeated Emperor of Rome after husband, Venutius, and took of Governor exploited the chaotic state
by Governor the death of Claudius. his armour-bearer, Vellocatus, Gaius Suetonius of Rome during the ‘Year
Scapula, ending A period of unrest then began as her new consort. The Paulinus assaulted of Four Emperors’. When
his nine-year campaign of guerrilla among the anti-Roman Brigantes, queen was forced to request the druids on the island of Mona Venutius attacked, the
warfare. He attempted to seek who wished to exploit the change Roman aid to defeat the army and slaughtered them. Afterwards, Romans managed to save
aid from the Brigantes, but was of power in the imperial capital. of her ex-lover. he was informed about the Cartimandua, but could
betrayed by Queen Cartimandua. rebellion of Boudica in the east. not save her kingdom.

19

Boudica Vs Rome

Boudica’s battle
The Iceni queen crossed the
country in pursuit of vengeance 1 The Call to Arms

4 Battle of Watling Street As Boudica gathered her people, warriors
flocked from all over Britannia to join her
Boudica’s forces faced the Roman rebellion against the Roman Empire. The
army in the Midlands, most likely queen then led her army south to combine
near Manduessedum. The battlefield with the substantial forces of the Trinovantes
was chosen by Governor Gaius before advancing towards Camulodunum.
Suetonius Paulinus to decrease the
advantage of the queen’s vastly Shield
superior numbers.
The curvature of the Roman
2 Legion IX Ambushed shields helped to provide
more protection and allowed
The moment the commander of the soldiers to create their
the ninth legion, Petillius Cerialis, famous tortoise formation.
was alerted about the uprising of
Boudica, he immediately advanced
his forces to save the undefended
colonia of Camulodunum. However,
his army was surrounded and
destroyed in a clever ambush.

3 Destruction of Three Cities

Boudica and her army moved almost
completely unopposed to devastate
Camulodunum, Londinium and
Verulamium, and slaughtered well over
30,000 Romans citizens. The queen
then advanced down Watling Street to
confront the Roman army as it returned
from the west.

■ Romans legions ■ britons

Boudica, with her daughters, colonia for retired veterans in 50 CE. Arable land to the tribe were to be paid back in full
leading her army of rebels was also required for the farms of the soldiers, immediately, or the funds would be taken
so it was taken from members of the tribe. As by force. After enduring excessive taxation
20 some of the strongest supporters of the Romans, and then given such an ultimatum, the
the nobles of the Trinovantes were ‘rewarded’ Trinovantes decided that their support for the
even further for their loyalty with membership empire had come to an end.

into the priesthood of the Augustales. As When the Roman citizens of Camulodunum
priests dedicated to the worship of the became aware of the approaching horde led by
deified emperors, it was the duty of the Boudica, they desperately pleaded for help to
Augustales to build the grand temple of the procurator in nearby Londinium. Since the
Claudius within their former capital. To governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading
pay for the temple and the construction a campaign in the far west of the province,
required to transform Camulodunum Decianus was the second highest-ranking Roman
into a colonia, the Trinovantes were official in the vicinity. But the procurator was not
given considerable loans by both a military commander and, therefore, was only
the Roman state and the fabulously able to send little more than 200 ill-equipped
wealthy statesman Seneca. However, men to reinforce the small garrison already
the top financial officer, or procurator, stationed in the town. Shortly afterwards, the
of the province, Catus Decianus, had financial official fled to Gaul in disgrace for his
recently demanded that all loans given approval of the severe maltreatment of the Iceni

Boudica Vs Rome

romthaenscevletrssus and Trinovantes that led to the rebellion. What
the citizens of Camulodunum did not know was
that the ninth legion, led by Quintus Petillius

Cerialis, was already on its way to save the
town before Boudica was able to reach it.

Helmet Spear In the hope of intercepting the rebel horde,
Cerialis rushed towards their presumed
Roman legionary soldiers wore Both Romans and Celts had location. The Roman commander moved
a bronze helmet called a ‘galea’. spears and javelins, but the with too much haste, for he and his
Although the Britons had Roman ‘pilum’ had a much men were unable to detect the trap they
developed helmets by the time of cleverer design. The javelin’s had walked into before it was too late.
Boudica, many went unprotected. shank was designed to break Suddenly, British warriors appeared from all
on impact, meaning that it directions and an onslaught ensued. Of the
couldn’t be picked up and 2,000 soldiers under his command, only 500
used by the enemy, and it made it out of the devastating ambush alive
could penetrate a shield so with Cerialis. Boudica continued on her course
deeply that the enemy would
be forced to discard it.

to Camulodunum as the beaten legion fled to the

safety of a small fort.

With no solid defences constructed yet to

protect the growing colonia, the citizens of

Camulodunum watched in horror as Boudica led

her army into the town, unopposed, and ordered

the destruction of everything in sight. Dozens

of buildings were set on fire and thousands of

people were slaughtered in the streets. Boudica

did not intend on taking prisoners, nor did her

warriors, so any Roman caught by the armed

mob was killed. The Roman soldiers and the rest

of the survivors barricaded themselves within the

massive temple of Claudius, but the desperately

outnumbered force was completely surrounded.

Amid the black smoke filling the sky and reek

of decaying flesh surrounding the edifice, the

Armour defenders held off the British horde for two long
days. But, by the end of the second day, the
The Celts wore little to no besiegers finally broke through the remaining
armour, and often painted barricades and massacred all who remained
themselves with blue woad within the despised temple.
dye before battle. Roman
soldiers, on the other hand, Boudica and her men pillaged as many spoils
were heavily armoured with
metal plates and shin guards.

as they could find in the ruins of Camulodunum

before they moved on towards the merchant

town of Londinium. This time around, the

citizens were aware of the advancing army,

with ample time to allow them to gather their

possessions and abandon the town. Yet hope

was with the Romans, for Governor Paulinus

had arrived with a small contingent of cavalry to

survey the situation. Soon afterwards, however,

optimism gave way to feelings of horror as the

citizens of Londinium realized that Paulinus

planned to retreat from the city and leave it open

to the British marauders.

In order to reach the town as quickly as

possible, the governor had been forced to travel

Sword ahead of the vast majority of his army. Since he

The Roman short sword was was hopelessly outnumbered, Paulinus decided
deadly when fighting at close
quarters, while the longer “The Iceni and the
Celtic sword was rendered Trinovantes were willing
almost useless in the crush.
to risk everything”

21

Boudica Vs Rome

to reunite with his forces and meet Boudica d“tBheoseutrtdouiccwatniloeandndohfeorervaderermryetydhiintnhtgoe”
in a place of his choosing, where her superior
numbers would not be such an advantage. Boudica left a path of destruction that may became the governor of Britannia in 58 CE, he
have included the deaths of as many as 70,000 made it his top priority to crush all resistance
Londinium was almost deserted by the time Romans and Romanised Britons. on Mona and massacre all of the rebel priests
that Boudica reached the town, and any Roman found there. After their major triumph against the
left behind was slain and imperial buildings The legionaries that Paulinus was forced to druids, the legionaries were highly motivated to
were destroyed. Unspeakable atrocities were also leave behind when he made his rapid trek east eradicate the British insurgents of Boudica.
perpetrated on some of the aristocratic women were returning from the successful invasion of
caught in the town, possibly in revenge for the the island of Mona, off the coast of Wales. As a After the devastation of Verulamium, Boudica
crimes committed against Boudica. After the major religious centre of the druids, Mona was continued down Watling Street as Paulinus
Britons mutilated their breasts and faces, these perceived as a huge threat to the Romans, for gathered his forces. With only Legion XX, some
unfortunate Roman noblewomen were executed the Celtic priests had long been the supporters of units from Legion XIV and auxiliaries, as well
by impalement on spikes. Once the destruction nearly every uprising against imperial rule across as the small remnant of Legion IX, Paulinus’
of Londinium was complete and sufficient Gaul and Britannia. Therefore, when Paulinus army only numbered about 10,000 soldiers. The
booty gathered, the horde moved on to sack
another smaller town, Verulamium, before it
headed down the road now known as Watling
Street towards the ultimate confrontation with
the Roman army under Paulinus. In her wake,

Battle of Watling Street

Disastrous Retreat

With their larger swords unable
to compare to the lethal gladius,
many Britons were slain and the
survivors were pushed back to
the carts behind them. When
the rebel army finally broke, the
fleeing troops struggled to escape
past their own barricade.

Legionary
Counterattack

As the Britons neared, the
Romans first launched their
javelins into the horde of warriors
before they charged forward in
formation with their short swords
drawn. In the confined space
of the melee, the gladius was
extremely deadly and efficient.

Chariot Assault vs Terrain

The chariots of the Britons were arrayed
in front of the warrior bands and were the
first to attack. Although the missiles of the
mobile vehicles were deadly, the Romans
withstood the heavy barrage until the
British infantry began their advance.

Superior Numbers vs Terrain

The Romans were positioned on top of
a minor slope, with the mass of British
warriors located in the fields below.
With thick forests protecting their rear
and flanks, the Romans waited for the
Britons to make a frontal assault.

22

Boudica Vs Rome

A depiction of Boudica, queen of the Iceni Boudica and her army of rebels killed thousands
before they were stopped by the Romans

governor would have had slightly more men at her long hair flowed in the wind, the tall warrior legionaries was slain, including women, children © Alamy; Thinkstock; Look & Learn
his disposal, but the commander of Legion II queen raised her powerful voice above the and the pack animals travelling with the Britons.
failed to muster his troops and combine with tumult to give a rousing speech that reminded
the forces of Paulinus. Boudica, on the other her troops of the cruelty and oppression they In defeat, Boudica drank poison, choosing to
hand, led a horde of hundreds of thousands that were fighting against. On the other side of the end her own life rather than fall into the hands
may have consisted of as many as 230,000. But field, Paulinus also raised the confidence of his of the Romans. Although ultimately unsuccessful
Paulinus had two advantages – the training and men through very direct words. He emphasised at removing the Romans from Britannia,
discipline of his men, and the fact that they were their extensive training, for them to see that Boudica had her revenge with the deaths of
all battle-ready soldiers. their professionalism was a much greater asset thousands of her imperial oppressors. In fact, so
than overwhelming numbers. much devastation had occurred that Emperor
When Boudica finally reached the Romans in Nero nearly gave up on the fragile fledgling
the Midlands, they were most likely positioned When the two forces collided at the battle province, for it was more costly to maintain than
near Manduessedum. Paulinus had chosen an of Watling Street, the chariots of the Britons financially beneficial. He would have done so if
ideal location to assemble his men, with a thick wreaked havoc down the Roman lines. it were not for the courageous efforts of Paulinus.
forest behind them and slopes protecting their However, the large infantries of each army Afterwards, the governor went on to continue
flanks. The legionaries formed the centre of inevitably clashed and the superior equipment the savagery of the Romans, focusing his
the army with auxiliary units on each side and and martial skills of the Romans won the day. brutality primarily on the remaining Iceni and
cavalry contingents on the wings. The warrior Furthermore, when the Britons broke and fled Trinovantes until they were sufficiently subdued.
bands of Boudica’s massive host gathered before from the slaughter caused by the deadly Roman Boudica may have achieved the vengeance she
the Roman legions, brandishing their swords and short swords, they were trapped by the semi- sought, but the sad truth is that her people faced
screaming war cries as Boudica rode along the circle of carts and could not escape. In the even more oppression after her death because of
front lines in a chariot with her daughters. As end, everything in the path of the victorious her actions against the empire.

23

VHILELRA&OIENSS

Ada
Lovelace
This unusual countess was one of the most
influential figures in the history of technology,
and one you have most likely never heard of

Written by Alex Hoskins

T hat the world’s first computer programmer mood swings – the true picture of a popular poet. Ada’s mother
was a Victorian woman is remarkable in Annabella was terrified Ada would inherit her forbade her from
itself, but that she was the daughter of one father’s instabilities – a fear that would prove to seeing a portrait of
of literature’s most well-known poets adds be not entirely unfounded. As such, it was upon her father, Lord Byron,
until she was 20
such colour to the story it is difficult to Annabella’s insistence that her daughter be brought
years old
understand how it isn’t more widely known. Born up completely in control of herself, able to apply

in 1815, Ada Lovelace is not a name that draws the logic and certainly not preoccupied with sensation

same reverence or even recognition as the likes of and emotions in the same way that her father was.

Alan Turing, Charles Babbage or Tim Berners-Lee If flights of fancy were Annabella’s concern, there

– all undeniable innovators in technology. Yet she were signs early in Ada’s life that her determination

was the first to imagine the potential that modern had not suppressed all of these tendencies. At the

computers held, and her predictions so accurately age of 12, Ada was already developing a curious

mirrored what later became the technological scientific mind, and became obsessed with the idea

revolution that she is seen by many as a visionary, of learning to fly. In the hope of achieving this lofty

and even, by some, a prophet. ambition, Ada undertook extensive and methodical

Understanding Ada’s ancestry and childhood research into materials that could be used to make

is key to discovering how this unlikely historical effective wings and examined birds and insects for

figure played her part in the creation and further inspiration. She gathered her findings in a

proliferation of the computer. Her mother, Anne volume and named it ‘Flyology’. At first, Annabella

Isabella ‘Annabella’ Byron, didn’t want her daughter encouraged her daughter’s enthusiasm for research

to grow up to be like her father, the eminent poet and science, but as the obsession took hold, Ada

Lord Byron. He was tempestuous and prone to was forced by her mother to abandon her project.

24

Heroes & Villains
ADA LOVELACE

25

Heroes & Villains
ADA LOVELACE

Enemies

Augusta Leigh

In 1841, Ada’s mother informed her
that her half-cousin Medora Leigh
was in fact her half-sister, following
an incestuous affair between Lord
Byron and his half-sister Augusta
Leigh. Ada wrote: “I am not in the
least astonished,” and blamed the
affair on Augusta, writing: “I feel
‘she’ is more inherently wicked
than ‘he’ ever was.”

Bruce Collier

Ada’s work has been the source
of much contention, with many
dismissing her part in the project.
One historian, Bruce Collier, wrote:
“It is no exaggeration to say that
she [had] the most amazing
delusions about her own talents,
and a rather shallow understanding
of both Charles Babbage and the
Analytical Engine.”

Annabella’s insistence on bringing up her Ada is believed to have written
daughter firmly rooted in logic was most likely an algorithm for the Analytical
inspired by her own interest in mathematics, and Engine, designed by Babbage
manifested itself in many, occasionally odd, ways.
Part of Ada’s ‘education’ was to observe the task “Ada became obsessed with
of lying still for hours on end, an activity designed the idea of learning to y’”
to teach ‘self control’. In addition, Annabella was
not a particularly maternal force, referring to Ada Five years after her obsessive research into flight, Babbage couldn’t secure funding for his research
in letters as “it”, and leaving Ada in the care of her Ada met a man who would prove integral to her into the new machine while the last project
grandmother, Lady Judith Millbanke. However, life, and in particular, her intellectual pursuits. remained unfinished, but his determination to
Judith died when Ada was six years old, and from Charles Babbage was a technological innovator progress the Analytical Engine spurred him on,
then on her guardianship was covered by various and had created the Analytical Engine – the device until he eventually found a sympathetic reception
nannies, and later, tutors, who had been chosen generally considered to be the first computer. in Italy. In 1842, an Italian mathematician named
and approved by Annabella. Babbage was 42, and yet despite the gap of more Luigi Menabrea published an essay on the function
than 20 years between them, a friendship would of the machine. The text was in French, and Ada’s
Lord Byron, Ada’s father, had left two months grow that would not only provide them with talent for languages coupled with her mathematical
after her birth for a life in Italy. His marriage comfort and intellectual stimulation, but provide understanding made her the perfect candidate
to Annabella had ended abruptly, in a slew of the world with its most revolutionary invention yet to translate the document for Babbage. Over the
scandalous rumours of affairs between Byron and a – the computer. course of nine months, she did this, but while the
chorus girl, myriad financial troubles and rumoured memoir was valuable, it paled in comparison to
violence and abuse. After travelling to Italy, where Babbage had been working under commission Ada’s additions, which Babbage had suggested she
he stayed with Percy Bysshe and Mary Shelley, from the British government on a machine called should add in as she saw fit.
Byron’s final years were spent in Greece, where he the Difference Engine, but the Analytical Engine
had joined the forces fighting for independence was something far more complex. Where the The notes that Ada made alongside the
from the Ottoman Empire. It was here that he died Difference Engine was essentially a calculator, document were ground breaking. They exceeded
in 1824, when Ada was just eight years old – the designed to eliminate inaccuracies by fallible the document she had translated, not just in length,
two never met. humans, the Analytical Engine could perform but in depth and insight. One of the most quoted
more complex calculations, stretching far beyond phrases, “the Analytical Engine weaves algebraic
While the mathematical passions of her mother numbers. This was the first time any such machine patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers
meant Ada had endured some unorthodox had been conceived, let alone designed. and leaves,” is a particularly feminine turn of
methods in her upbringing, it also meant that she
received an extraordinary gift, rare for women in
the 19th century – a comprehensive mathematical
education. Ada’s tutors were a diverse group of
academics, reading as a ‘who’s who’ of early to mid-
19th century intellectuals. Among the most notable
were William Frend, a renowned social reformer;
William King, the family’s doctor, and perhaps
most notably, Mary Somerville, a fellow female
mathematician and astronomer.

26

Heroes & Villains
ADA LOVELACE

Ockham Park, Surrey, in the 19th Allies
century, where Ada lived after
she married William King

Charles Babbage

Ada was introduced to the
polymath when she was 17
and they began a lifelong
friendship. Babbage called her an
“enchantress of numbers that has
thrown her magical spell around
the most abstract of sciences and
has grasped it with a force that
few masculine intellects could have
exerted over it.”

Mary Somerville

A fellow scientist and
mathematician, Somerville
mentored Ada when she was
a child and the young countess
developed a strong respect and
affection for her. They continued
their correspondence right up
until Ada’s death in 1852, at the
age of 36.

Kim & Toole

Fierce defenders of Ada’s legacy,
they wrote: “[Ada] was certainly
capable of writing the program
herself given the proper formula;
this is clear from her depth of
understanding regarding the
process of programming and from
her improvements on Babbage’s
programming notation.”

phrase, strategically plucked from a much more Ada saw herself foremost as an “analyst and her mother. In the years following her death,
incredible advances have been made in the
lengthy, as well as technical, comparison of the metaphysician,” but while her scientific prowess fields of technology, and her prophecies have
been realised. The authenticity of her authorship
machine to the Jacquard loom. In fact, most of earned her a place in history, she lived a generally has been questioned, but her findings proved
invaluable to Alan Turing’s work in the mid-20th
the text is purely scientific, of a tone that wouldn’t unremarkable domestic life. In 1835, two years century and were re-published at that time. Her
legacy continues in the form of Ada Lovelace day,
be out of place in a modern-day programming after her first meeting with Babbage, Ada married observed annually on 15 October. The day has the
aim of raising awareness and interest for women
textbook. For example, she wrote: “When the William King, 8th Baron of King, later to become in science. Ada was an unusual person in so many
ways, and a remarkable one, and she continues
value on any variable is called into use, the Earl of Lovelace. Ada and William to inspire those who feel that they must defy
expectation to follow their passions.
one of two consequences may be would go on to have three children,
Hero or villain?
made to result.” On the first, named Byron, born in
Ada also used the example Artificial May 1836. Two siblings shortly HEROISM
followed: Anne in September Her role in Babbage’s project has been contested, but there
of the complex numerical is no doubt that Ada is a role model for women even today

sequence known as Intelligence, Ada 1837 and Ralph in July 1839. VILLAINY
Bernoulli numbers to prove concluded that Ada suffered with health Despite her contribution to science, Ada was accused of
the ability of the machine several extra-marital a airs and was addicted to gambling
problems, both mentally
LEGACY
to calculate complex computers could and in the form of physical Ada has been forgotten by many, but those in the eld have
sequences from an original never have original sicknesses, including cholera, coined her the world’s rst ever computer programmer
program. Detractors have from which she recovered.

used this against Lovelace, thoughts Annabella held Ada, William
taking it as proof that the and the family in her financial

observations expressed in thrall and as such, they lived on her

her notes weren’t truly hers, but terms. This, combined with William’s

simply a relaying of information given to sometimes controlling, even abusive, character,

her by Babbage. Indeed, Ada did not have a full was at odds with Ada’s friendly and fiercely

understanding of calculus, but even if Bernoulli independent nature. Affairs were rumoured, one in

numbers were the suggestion of Babbage, the particular with the tutor to Ada’s children, William

principle of her assumptions remained the same. Benjamin Carpenter, but there is no evidence that © Alamy, Getty Images

It was the insight for potential in her translation of she ever embarked on an extra-marital relationship.

this document that earned Countess Lovelace the Ada died of uterine cancer aged just 36, the

moniker the ‘World’s First Computer Programmer’. same age as her father, and was out-lived by

27

EMPIREVICTORIA'S
How a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean
came to own an empire so large that
the sun never set on it

Written by Frances White

he date was 22 January 1901 and the British were increasingly disenchanted with the monarchy
Empire was the largest of any in human and her grandfather, the mad king George III, had
history, but the monarch who reigned over failed to protect British interest in the Americas,
it would not live another day. As Queen and her uncle George IV’s terrible relations with
Victoria lay dying in Osborne House on the his wife and reckless spending had tarnished the
Isle of Wight she looked back on a reign that monarchy’s prestige. At a mere 18 years and barely
spanned over 63 years. She had seen her empire 150 centimetres (five feet) tall, Victoria hardly
grow from a collection of scattered isles, separated seemed a fitting patron for the vast ambitions of
by vast plains of lands and insurmountable oceans, British expansion from the 17th century. But this
to the greatest the world had known. It had reached blue-eyed, silvery-voiced lady possessed a stubborn
over India, plucked its riches and mounted it as the will of iron and her reign would become the longest
glimmering jewel in her crown. It had butchered in British history. Her ascension marked not the
its way mercilessly across Africa at the cost of death of the British Empire, but the new dawn of a
thousands of British corpses and countless natives kingdom so massive that none could ever hope to
who had tried in vain to stand in its way. It was challenge it.
powered forward both by Christian values and
colonial greed, so as Victoria drew her last breath, The world was changing as Victoria took her
she left a world forever transformed by the empire place on the throne. The tiny, scattered rural
she had built. villages of England were being abandoned en
When a young Princess Victoria ascended the masse and the cities were transforming into
steps of Westminster Abbey on her coronation sprawling metropolises. Great towering concrete
day, few would have foreseen the mighty empire chimneys rose from the ground and the whirr of
she would eventually rule over. The British public machines sounded across the country – the age
of steam had arrived. The Industrial Revolution

28

VICTORIA’S EMPIRE

“The British
Empire had the
might, ingenuity

and limitless
ambition to
conquer the
world”

QUEEN VICTORIA

British, 1819 1901
Victoria served as
monarch of the United

Brief Kingdom from 20 June
Bio 1837 until her death

on 22 January 1901. At
63 years her reign is currently
the longest in British history,
and is associated with the
Industrial Revolution, economic
progress and most notably, the
expansion of the British Empire
to the largest domain of all time.

VICTORIA’S EMPIRE Egypt

GRTEAHTEEWSTORELMDP'SIRE Finding itself in economic
HwroouwrlledmdBubrcyitha19no0fn1tiahe rot, Egypt sold half its stake
in the Suez Canal to Britain.
This prompted an eventual
revolt and launched the 1882
Anglo-Egyptian War. Britain
won and took the country
under its control. Egypt
provided a vital trade route
between Britain and India,
cutting out the long journey
around Africa.

5things you Canada South Africa
probably didn’t
know about England captured Canada The British gained control of the Cape
Benjamin Disraeli from France after the of Good Hope in the early-19th century
Seven Years’ War in 1763, and set up a colony. When South African
Born to Italian-Jewish also known as the French Dutch settlers felt their territory was at
and Indian War. As well as risk, the two powers engaged in a series
1 parents, Disraeli was the first adding a massive landmass of military clashes known as the Boer
British prime minister with a to the British Empire’s Wars, leading the Boers to submit to British
Jewish heritage, though he bragging rights, Canada was rule. Serving as a stopping station on the
was baptised as a Christian. a resource-rich country with way to India, Southern Africa was also rich in
a small population. Canada gold and diamonds.
Disraeli pursued many early provided ample trade of
timber, ores and furs.
2 business ventures that failed,
leaving him in crippling “The loss of the love of and inventions, Albert organised The Great
debt, leading to a nervous her life changed not only Exhibition at the Crystal Palace – a temple to the
breakdown from which it herself as a person, but the ingenuity of the rapidly developing modern world.
took him years to recover. Inventions from around the world were displayed,
fate of her empire” but this was Britain’s show, first and foremost. The
He was mocked in Parliament symbols of British might, which occupied half of
changed Britain from a quaint maritime nation into the entire display space, served as clear examples
3 when he made his maiden a manufacturing colossus. Railways and steamships of what the British Empire was capable of and
speech. Later he proclaimed brought the British overseas territory closer to the fostered the ideas of national supremacy in the eyes
that “the time will come when mother country, opening up opportunities for trade of Victoria, the government and the majority of the
you will hear me.” and commerce that were previously unfathomable. British population. The Great Exhibition proved that
far from the crumbling remains of a once-powerful
Disraeli was a notorious It was Albert, Victoria’s beloved husband, who nation, the British Empire had the might, ingenuity
opened her and Britain’s eyes to the ideas that went and limitless ambition to conquer the world.
4 flatterer and when asked by on to shape her empire. Fascinated by mechanisms
a colleague how to deal with The opportunity to pave the road for this empire
Queen Victoria, he replied: arose in 1857 with the Indian Mutiny. India had
“First of all, remember she is
a woman.”

He introduced much
legislation that benefited

5 the poor, such as the 1877
Artisans Dwelling Act that
provided housing, as well
as the Public Health Act the
same year.

30

VICTORIA’S EMPIRE

Australia TIMELINE OF
CONQUEST
British involvement in Australia began
when Captain James Cook landed on How Victoria’s
the continent in the late-18th century. British Empire became
The number of Aboriginals living
there quickly plummeted because of the world’s biggest
European diseases and loss of land.
Australia became a penal colony and 1838 PICAIRN ISLANDS
thousands of British convicts were 1842 HONG KONG
transported there as punishment. 1848 INDIA
When gold was discovered there, 1853 TRUCIAL OMAN (TRINIDAD
British immigrants raced to the sandy
shores in search of their fortune. & TOBAGO)

India 1857 ADEN (YEMEN)
1862 BRITISH HONDURAS (BELIZE)
After largely being 1868 BECHUANANLAND (BOTSWANA)
controlled by the East 1874 FIJI
India Company, India 1878 CYPRUS
became part of the British Empire 1878 SOUTH WEST AFRICA (NAMIBIA)
after the Government of India Act in 1858. 1881 NORTH BORNEO (SABAH)
Known as the ‘jewel in the crown’, India was the 1884 BASUTOLAND (LESOTHO)
most valuable piece of Britain’s empire, with 1884 BRITISH SOMALILAND
lucrative trade from spices, jewels and textiles.
The most important provision of India, though, (SOMALILAND)
was its manpower, which contributed massively
1884 PAPUA NEW GUINEA
to Britain’s military might. 1885 NIGERIA
1885 KENYA
1887 MALDIVE ISLANDS
1888 BRITISH EAST AFRICA (KENYA)
1888 BRUNEI
1888 COOK ISLANDS (NZ ASSOC)
1888 GAMBIA
1888 SARAWAK (MALAYSIA)
1889 RHODESIA (ZIMBABWE)
1889 TRINIDAD (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO)
1890 TANGANYIKA (TANZANIA)
1891 MALAWI
1894 UGANDA
1898 SUDAN
1899 KUWAIT

been ruled by a private entity – the East India Queen Victoria welcomed the country to her When Albert drew his last breath in the
Company – from 1757. The rebellion manifested empire in a lavish ceremony, promising that blue room at Windsor Castle the queen was
the discontent felt by the Indian people for the Indian native customs and religions would be inconsolable; the loss of the love of her life changed
blatant disrespect of their beliefs and customs. The respected and that she would “draw a veil over the not only herself as a person, but the fate of her
company showed disregard for the Indian caste sad and bloody past.” She presented herself as a empire. As she donned the mourning clothes she
system and issued new cartridges greased with cow maternal figure and a crusader for peace, justice would wear until her own death, she drew a veil
and pig fat that had to be opened with the mouth, and honest government – ideals largely inspired by over Albert’s vision and pursued a different path for
highly offensive to Muslim and Hindu soldiers. her husband. Albert had instilled in her mind the her kingdom – one of world domination.
These actions opened the eyes of the Indian people vision of King Arthur’s Camelot, an empire ruled
to the daily injustice they were being subjected not by tyranny but by justice, where the strong An emerging figure in Parliament would come to
to, and unrest snowballed into mass riots and an serve the weak, where good triumphs over evil, foster her views – Benjamin Disraeli. The ambitious
uprising. Although the mutiny was eventually bringing not oppression and bloodshed, but trade, and rebellious leader of the Conservatives was
quelled, the rebellion led to the dissolution of the education and welfare. His influence on Victoria led by a passion for imperial power and glory.
company, the passing of power to the British state was immense and when on 14 December 1861 he Inspired by tales of imperial adventures, Disraeli
and the creation of what Victoria would call the died of suspected typhoid fever, the empire veered believed Britain should pursue an empire of power
jewel in her crown – the British Indian Empire. into an entirely new direction. and prestige. His most direct political opponent
represented everything Albert dreamed the empire

31

VICTORIA’S EMPIRE

WHAT WAS THE A satirical
cartoon from 1876
EAST INDIA COMPANY? poking fun at
the relationship
between Queen
Victoria and
Benjamin Disraeli

Emerging from humble

beginnings, the East India

Company began as a

simple enterprise of

London businessmen

who wanted to make

money from importing

spices. The company was

granted a royal charter by Queen Elizabeth I in

1600, and in 1601 James Lancaster led its first

voyage. The company set up trade outposts in

Indian settlements that slowly developed into

commercial towns. Steadily increasing its territory,

the company claimed vital trading ports from

Aden to Penang. As its control extended, the

company became the most powerful private

company in history, with its own

army established by Robert

Clive, the first British

governor of Bengal. With

its great military power

behind it, the

company controlled

India with a

combination of

direct rule and

alliances with

Indian princes. The

East India Company

eventually

Lancaster was an accounted for half
Elizabethan trader the world’s trade and
specialised in cotton,
and privateer silk, tea and opium.

The Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders could be. William Gladstone, the leader of the
before the 1899 Battle of Modder River Liberals, thought the empire should serve a high
moral purpose, to follow not a path of conquest but
during the Second Boer War one of commerce, sharing their moral vision with
the rest of the world.

These two fiery and driven men fought over
these opposing visions in Parliament as Victoria
continued to mourn. Without Albert she felt
incompetent and unable to face the immense duty
that her role dictated. With her strong conservative
views she found Gladstone and his liberal reforms
dangerous and unpredictable. Disraeli, suave, coy
and dripping with forthright confidence, enchanted
the lonely queen. With his constant flattery
and sharp wit, Disraeli reignited her interest in
politics and captivated her, as Albert had done so

previously, with his vision of just how mighty the
empire could be. However, Gladstone’s liberal
vision and Albert’s quest for Camelot had not

completely faded. The British people, led by
strong Protestant beliefs Victoria herself
had instilled in them, felt it was
Britain’s role – their duty even – to
civilise people around the world.
They believed the British cause
was to export not only trade, but
also gospel values of morality
and justice.
It was in pursuit of this lofty
goal that many missionaries

32

A British marketing poster promoting the VICTORIA’S EMPIRE
Suez Canal – the waterway was an important
FIVEREASONS THE
factor in the growth of the empire BTROITRISUHLEEMTPHIEREWCOARMDE

“The Industrial Revolution changed Britain DOMINANCE OF
from a quaint maritime nation into a THE SEAS
manufacturing giant”
Britain employed a ‘two-power
turned their attention to Africa. Little was known imperialist Disraeli leapt on with glee. His flattery standard’ in 1889 which called
of the ‘Dark Continent’, but the common perception of Victoria had completely won her over and the for the Royal Navy to maintain
was that it was a place of pagan worship ravaged monarchy and government became united in a force at least equal to the
by tribal wars. One missionary in particular would pursuit of one goal – the expansion of the empire. combined strength of the next two largest navies in
capture the attention of the British nation. Tall, the world. This policy ensured British dominance of
handsome and heroic, David Livingstone embodied The perfect opportunity to begin this new the seas with a string of naval bases encompassing
everything the British believed their nation to empire emerged as another nation struggled to the whole world. The pure size and strength of the
represent. A medical missionary, Livingstone’s survive. The Egyptian ruler, Isma’il Pasha, was navy served its purpose – deterring any would be
daring adventures around the continent were confronted with crippling debts after reckless competitors and confirming its position as ruler of
followed by a captivated British public. Fighting spending on lavish ceremonies and a costly war the waves.
vicious beasts, battling through dense jungles and with Ethiopia. In an act of desperation he made
suffering a multitude of illnesses, Livingstone was an offer to sell to the British Egypt’s shares in THE INDUSTRIAL
the heroic face of the empire’s Christian ideals. the Suez Canal. The canal was more than a mere REVOLUTION
trading port; it opened up a short route to India
Livingstone’s horrific confrontation with African across Egypt and down the Red Sea, cutting out the Britain was the first nation to
chain gangs was to drive the British cause of lengthy journey around Africa. The Egyptian ruler’s harness the power of steam and
expansion. The slavery rife in Africa was abhorrent offer would give the British controlling influence the first to undergo an industrial
to Livingstone and the British public, as the practice over the jugular of the empire, so Disraeli urged revolution. This resulted in
had been abolished across the empire in 1833. The Victoria to accept. She immediately did and the mass production of low-cost goods to trade around
queen and government united behind Livingstone’s Suez Canal fell into British hands. the world. It also gave Britain’s military an array
quest to find a suitable trade route, hoping that of resources like rifles, steamships and trains,
by doing so, the African people would find ways With control of India, Britain was already the equipping it to defeat any possible enemies. Medical
to make a living that wasn’t built on the backs of most powerful nation on Earth and three-quarters advances also allowed British explorers to penetrate
slaves. Livingstone’s journey was a failure and he of the world’s trade was transported in British remote areas without fear of tropical diseases.
returned to scathing criticism – something the ships, but this control was being threatened. The
Russian Empire had been steadily expanding east THE QUEST TO
SPREAD DEMOCRACY

Land grabbing aside, the British
Empire was led by a strong
Protestant desire to improve
the world. Britain saw itself as
an agent of civilisation – one they wanted to spread
worldwide, bringing peace, order and stability. This
belief that they were doing genuine good led men
like David Livingstone to travel to Africa to spread
the word of God, and with it, the British Empire.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF
THE COMPETITION

As major powers of the world
such as Spain, France, the
Netherlands and the Ottomans
were losing power, the British
began to peak in strength. Britain was able to take
advantage of the European wars that had weakened
other nations as it enjoyed a period of relative
peace, allowing uninterrupted expansion of its
empire. Any threats that did emerge, such as Russia,
just gave Britain new zeal to cement its powerful
hold on the world.

STRONG LEADERSHIP

Britain was ruled by a single
monarch throughout most
of the 19th century – Queen
Victoria. The record-breaking
length of her reign brought
a sense of stability and contributed to the
unconquerable notion of the British Empire.
Although Victoria did involve herself in government,
her role was symbolic rather than one of direct
power, which ensured stability of British politics.
While other nations were dealing with socialist
movements, Britain enjoyed a long period of relative
domestic peace.

33

VICTORIA’S EMPIRE

RBURWLIHTAEOAVDWNETNSHIAE The anatomy of the HMS Prince George

Sturdy frame A willing crew Propulsion Steaming ahead

The skeleton of the ship, The HMS Prince George Powered by two triple Steam power emerged in the 1830s
a strong frame was of carried a crew of 672 expansion steam as an auxiliary propulsion system. The
paramount importance. officers and enlisted engines, the HMS Prince first purpose-built steam battleship
The ironclad battleships of men. This was less than George was capable of was Le Napoléon of France with a
the 1870s and ‘80s were previous ships of the line, a top speed of 16 knots speed of 12 knots (23km/h / 14mph)
replaced by pre-dreadnought which required between (30km/h / 18mph). The regardless of wind direction. Soon the
ships, which were built from 800 and 900 men to engines were powered United Kingdom was rapidly producing
tough steel and reinforced operate effectively. by eight coal-fired steam battleships to challenge France’s
with hardened steel armour. cylindrical boilers, which strength, building 18 new ships and
produced an impressive converting 41 to steam power.
speed, but at the cost of
high fuel consumption.

Firepower Steel armour

Pre-dreadnoughts carried a variety of guns for different The ship was reinforced with 22.9cm (9in) of Harvey
purposes. There were four heavy slow-firing guns, which were armour, which provided it with equal protection for less
difficult to operate but capable of penetrating the armour of weight. As a result, the pre-dreadnought ships benefited
enemy ships. The HMS Prince George also carried a secondary from a lighter belt than any previous battleships, without
any loss in protection. The battery, conning tower and deck
battery of 12 quick-firing .40-calibre guns.
were also protected by thick steel.

and south and was getting uncomfortably close 16,000 British reinforcements to prise the Zulus’ stationed there to defend it. The liberal leader
to Victoria’s prized jewel – India. The Middle East independence from their grip. Expecting to return refused. In order to buy time he sent one man,
was largely controlled by the Turks, but they were to a wave of praise for their daring exploits, the General Charles Gordon, to secure the evacuation of
busy dealing with violent rebellions. The Turkish victorious army were surprised to discover that loyal civilians and soldiers.
treatment of their Christian subjects was shocking British opinions were changing once again.
and atrocious, but as Russia backed the rebels the Like Livingstone, Gordon was a national
British had no option but to support the Turks. Gladstone, the “half-mad firebrand”, as Victoria hero. He was brave, dashing, popular and his
The British public, to whom Russia stood for dubbed him, preached his outraged opinions decorated military career had painted him in the
everything Britain opposed – ignorance, slavery and about the mass slaughter of Zulus and rampant British public’s eyes as a gleaming knight of old.
subjugation – largely supported this choice. Facing destruction of their homes. Victoria was outraged Despite these qualities Gordon was also wild and
the prospect of imminent war with the strongest but the public sided with Gladstone and, much to unpredictable. When he reached the Sudan he
nation on the planet, Russia agreed to peace talks the queen’s dismay, the power of the government was horrified by the slavery rife in the region and
and thanks in part to the charisma and negotiation switched hands once more. Liberal leader or not, decided to face the Mahdi in battle. With limited
skills of Disraeli, agreed to stop their advance on all of Europe’s attention was firmly fixed on Africa forces, Gordon soon found himself besieged in
the Middle East. as nations began a scramble to establish colonies the city of Khartoum. His appeals for aid, to the
there. In amongst this mad rush to establish new adoring public’s outrage, fell on deaf ears in the
Imperial spirit rushed through the public as territory by European powers, it was arguably one government. It took more than eight months
the might of British muscle flexed and proved man’s actions that would determine the ultimate of public fury to finally force Gladstone’s hand,
itself again. As the empire continued its steady fate of Victoria’s empire. but it was too late – Gordon, the nation’s hero of
expansion across the continent it came face to face Christianity, was dead.
with the most powerful African nation – the Zulus. Led by Muhammad Ahmed, revolution was
The British, with a bloated ego, underestimated tearing through the Sudan as tribes rose against In an instance the liberal vision was shattered,
the strength of their spear-wielding enemies and their corrupt rulers. As this holy war drew Gladstone was voted out and his moral influence
suffered a crushing initial defeat. In the end it took uncomfortably close to the Suez Canal, Victoria departed with him. The renewed crusading spirit
urged Gladstone to utilise the British troops of British imperialism found its poster boy in a

34

VICTORIA’S EMPIRE

RIGHT 1892 caricature of Cecil Rhodes,
after he announced plans for a telegraph
line and railroad from Cape Town to Cairo

“They believed the British cause was to
export not only trade, but also gospel values

of morality and justice”

man who would lead the empire down a dark and his way across the continent with the British
dangerous path. Moving from England to Africa government backing him every bloody step of
to work on a cotton farm, Cecil John Rhodes had the way. Rhodes made it his purpose to make the
become outrageously wealthy from the diamond world English and famously said: “If there be a God,
rush, but he wanted more – the whole of Africa. I think that what he would like me to do is paint as
Driven by greed and lust for power, Rhodes wished much of the map of Africa British Red as possible.”
to create a British colony across Africa, not for the His path of colonial greed led Britain head-first into
betterment of its people or to spread Christian a conflict now known as the Boer Wars.
values, but for profit and business.
Gold had been found in Transvaal in northern
Using the tenacity and cunning that had elevated South Africa and Rhodes worried that this would
him to success, Rhodes tricked and butchered prompt an alliance with the Germans, thus cutting

The Great Exhibition of Paintings of Victoria in her youth are
1851 boosted Britain’s a world away from the traditional
national confidence austere depiction of her

Dr Livingstone,
I presume?

MAIN COMPETITORS Three countries that were battling
with Britain for territory
Russia Germany France

As England expanded its territory, so From 1850 onward, Germany began Britain’s age-old rival France was
did Russia. For a hundred years Russia to industrialise at an astonishing rate, still licking its wounds after the loss
expanded east and south, narrowing transforming from a rural nation to of most of its imperial colonies in
the gap between the British and a heavily urban one. In the space of a the early part of the 19th century.
Russian Empires in Central Asia. Britain decade Germany’s navy grew massively However, French leaders began a
soon became obsessed with protecting and became the only one able to challenge mission to restore its prestige in 1850,
India which was a rich source of goods and manpower. The the British. Although the German Empire of the late-19th seeking to claim land in North and West Africa as well as in
competition for dominance of the states that separated century consisted of only a few small colonies, the newly Southeast Asia. After the defeat of France in the Franco-
them – Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet – became commonly unified state slowly moved toward colonial expansion Prussian War, it still continued with zeal to expand its
known as The Great Game. The looming, but unlikely, in Asia and the Pacific. As Wilhelm II rose to power, his empire, acquiring land in China and all over Africa. Unlike
threat of Russia’s attack led Britain into largely unnecessary aggressive policies in achieving a ‘place in the sun’ similar to most of its rivals, France would continue expanding after
military involvement in Afghanistan and Tibet. Britain was one of the factors that would lead to WWI. WWI, well into the 1930s.

35

VICTORIA’S EMPIRE General Gordon organised a year-long defence
of Sudan but a relief force arrived two days
7 EYE-WATERING
EMPIRE FACTS after the city had fallen and he had been killed

458 million
people ruled over

23% “The monarchy and government became
of the world’s surface united in pursuit of one goal – the expansion
was ruled by Britain
of the empire”
13.01million
square miles of land
belonged to the empire

113
ships in the Royal Navy

16635&,20100years days off his route to the north of the continent. Rhodes as the first concentration camps – had been a step
planned an uprising to overthrow the Boer leaders, too far for the British public. What had begun as a
the length but it did not go as planned – far from the naked, noble quest of Christianity had transformed into
of Victoria’s spear-wielding foes he had previously conquered, a greedy and brutal scramble for power. When
reign the Boers had guns, and they fought back hard Rhodes died his merciless version of imperialism
with skill and courage. was buried with him in the dry African dirt.
7,010,000convictssenttoAustralia
total goods shipped by Britain in Outrage tore across Europe against what was When Victoria passed away she was finally
one year (1881) seen as an unprovoked attack on an independent rid of the black mourning clothes she had worn
state, but not in Britain. Fully convinced of their for 40 years and was dressed entirely in white.
noble mission, the British people believed the Spring flowers were scattered around her body and
Boers to be vicious and uncompromising. More her wedding veil was placed on her head as she
soldiers poured into the region into a war they prepared to reunite with the dearest love of her
believed would be short and glorious, but as more life. She was, however, leaving another behind; the
British bodies piled up – Victoria’s own grandson Empire she had mothered now stretched across the
among them – British confidence in their own globe with large parts of maps of the word coloured
unconquerable might began to wane. in the pink that showed British rule. As the sun
set on the quiet room in which she lay in Osborne
As British reinforcements continued to flood House, it was rising on the bustling spice markets
into the territory the tide slowly began to turn. of India, and soon the vast plains of British land
Rhodes had managed to squeeze a win from the in Africa would be bathed in warm golden light.
jaws of defeat and the Boer territories became Victoria had died, but the legacy she left behind
British colonies. The empire had grown, but at a expanded over the face of the entire planet. The
cost. Rhodes’ controversial actions during the war cogs of the British Empire whirred steadily on.
– including forming what would come to be known

36

Animals & Man

Top 5 facts

DIAN FOSSEY

THE FEARLESS ZOOLOGIST WHO FOUGHT
FOR GORILLAS IN THE MIST

DIAN FOSSEY

Nationality: American
Born: 16 January 1932
Died: 26 December 1985

01 SHE RISKED EVERYTHING TO GO TO AFRICA BBriioef Known for her
pioneering work
Fossey had a secure job working as director of the in studying the
endangered gorillas of
Kosair Crippled Children’s Hospital occupational therapy
the Rwandan mountain
department before her trip. However, in order to embark
forest, Fossey was a renowned
on her first visit to Africa, she had to spend her entire
zoologist. Fossey recorded her
life savings, as well as taking out a hefty bank loan.
experiences with the gorillas in

her book Gorillas In The Mist,

which was later turned into a

film. In 1985, aged 53, Fossey

was found bludgeoned to death

in her cabin in the Rwandan

mountains. Her mysterious

murder remains unsolved.

02 Her camp drove 03 Her career did not 04She battled constantly 05She’s attracted
students away start smoothly with poachers controversy

Fossey had to overcome a lot of When Fossey sought out During one of Fossey’s trips to America, Despite her pioneering work, Fossey
obstacles in her studies of the palaeontologist Louis Leakey at she placed an up-and-coming research was rumoured to have a dark side.
Rwandan gorillas, not least of all the his dig site, he mistook her for a student, Alan Goodall, in charge of her It was reported she would capture
camp itself. Along with the issues tourist. While walking around the camp. During this time he shot two those she suspected of poaching, strip
that come from living in a remote site she tripped and broke her ankle poachers in their legs, and in revenge them and beat them with nettles. In
location, many of the students that along with a newly excavated fossil. the poachers killed six mountain gorillas. 2002, The Wall Street Journal dubbed
travelled to help with her studies Despite this, she continued to the This ongoing war with the poachers her “a racist alcoholic who regarded
soon left due to the extreme mountains of Congo, where she is regarded by some to have caused her gorillas as better than the African
coldness and darkness of the camp. glimpsed her first mountain gorilla. Fossey’s murder. people who lived around them.”

© Alamy

37

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CLEOPATRA’S RUTHLESS RISE TO POWER

“Cleopatra pushed her
child brother-husband
into the background and
established herself as

sole monarch
of the country”

39

CLEOPATRA’S RUTHLESS RISE TO POWER

returned three years later, with the backing of nature, Cleopatra pushed her brother-husband into

a Roman army courtesy of the statesman Aulus the background and established herself as sole

Gabinius, he discovered his oldest daughter monarch of the country. This was dangerous; the

Berenice sitting on the throne. Displaying the Alexandrian courtiers swarmed over the young,

brutal and uncompromising ferocity that ran impressionable king, filling his head with whispers

through his entire family he had his daughter of sole rule and the dangers of his older sister. If

summarily executed, reclaimed the throne and Cleopatra had been more patient and attentive, she

ruled an uneasy Egypt until his death in 51 BCE. could perhaps have trained a capable and obedient

The crown and all the debts he had amassed co-ruler in him, one who would have aided her

became the property of his oldest rule, instead of bringing it crashing

surviving daughter, Cleopatra. down. But that was simply not

The 18-year-old was not – as the Ptolemy way, and she was

some expected – a naïve wide- “With her a Ptolemy in every sense of
eyed child torn from her popularity and the word – daring, ambitious
books to rule a kingdom and deadly. She dropped
on the brink of war. She her brother’s image from

had served as consort to reputation already in coins and erased his name
her father for the final tatters, the disgraced from official documents.
few years of his reign and With her skill, drive and

all her education since queen fled from cunning she was perfect
birth had been designed the city of her for rule; in her mind she
to mould her into a capable deserved Egypt and wasn’t

queen. Queen, that was; not birth” prepared to share it.
king, not pharaoh. Cleopatra The early years of her reign

was cursed by the requirement of would be testing, as not only was

all Egyptian queens to serve alongside the country still struggling under the

a dominant male co-ruler and so found herself father’s debts, but years of infrequent floods of

burdened with the task of being a subordinate the Nile had led to widespread famine. Over her

co-regent to her ten-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII. shoulder Cleopatra could feel the ever-looming

Faced with a regency council full of ambitious and rapidly expanding threat of Rome, and with a

men who ruled in her brother’s stead and led weak Egyptian army, her fertile land was ripe for

by her own ruthless, impatient and intelligent the picking. As hungry peasants flooded into the

A HUSBAND & TWO LOVERS

Ptolemy XIII Julius Caesar Mark Antony
Theos Philopator
ROMAN, 100 44 BCE ROMAN, 83 30 BCE
MACEDONIAN, 62 47 BCE
How did they get together? How did they get together?
How did they get together? Cleopatra and her brother both Antony summoned Cleopatra to see if
The marriage between Ptolemy and needed Caesar’s support. Cleopatra she would hold true in her promised
his sister was arranged, as was the met with Caesar before their support during the war against the
tradition with Egyptian royalty. scheduled meeting and managed to Parthians. She reportedly charmed
Was it true love? sway his vote. Her methods can be him during this meeting, perhaps
Considering their joint rule erupted left to the imagination. much the same way she had Caesar.
into a brutal civil war, we can assume Was it true love? Was it true love?
there was little love lost between the Although the union was initially Although it may have been borne
siblings. There is no evidence they spawned from mutual political out of political agendas, the two had
consummated their marriage. gain and the two were forbidden three children together, and Antony
How did it end? by Roman law to marry, Cleopatra risked everything to be with his
Ptolemy was forced to flee seemed to stay loyal to Caesar and Egyptian queen.
Alexandria when the forces of Caesar had his child. How did it end?
and Cleopatra claimed victory. He How did it end? After the ill-fated Battle of Actium,
reportedly drowned attempting to This love affair was cut short when Antony committed suicide upon
cross the Nile. Caesar was assassinated on the Ides mistakenly hearing Cleopatra was
of March. dead, and she quickly followed suit.

40

CLEOPATRA’S RUTHLESS RISE TO POWER

WAS SHE REALLY
A BEAUTY?

The popular image of Cleopatra is the stunning vision seen in paintings
and films, especially the 1963 film starring Liz Taylor with her strong
but delicate features. The difficulty with accessing the true appearance
of the Egyptian queen comes from the fact that the Roman Emperor
Augustus ordered all images of her to be destroyed. The few pieces that
were spared are difficult to link directly to Cleopatra. Her own ancestry
is also in doubt due to there being no concrete record of who her
mother or grandmother were.

Historians know she was part Greek, which indicates she had an olive
complexion with dark hair. The coins and few statues discovered present
a thick neck, with a hooked nose and prominent chin, she was also likely
to suffer from bad teeth like everyone else of her time. In Ancient
Egypt being seen as male was a sign of strength, and the strong
nose directly linked her with Ptolemy VIII, so it’s reasonable to
assume Cleopatra may have chosen to emphasise these traits. It
is perhaps better to view Cleopatra as not one who possessed
conventional beauty, but instead captivated with charm,
intelligence and wit.

A depiction of Caesar
leading Cleopatra onto
the Egyptian throne

Cleopatra also struck
up a fateful romance

with Mark Antony

41

CLEOPATRA’S RUTHLESS RISE TO POWER

cities, Cleopatra’s popularity plummeted, and her presented with the head of his rival. However, in

repeated decisions that seemed designed to please mere moments Ptolemy’s advisors realised their

Rome at Egypt’s expense reminded the bitter mistake, for the Roman general was completely

population of her despised father. and utterly appalled. He wept loudly and openly

In the middle of this political turmoil Cleopatra before leading his forces to the royal palace in

found herself facing a familiar rival. Her brother Alexandria. As he observed the local resentment

was back and, aided by his many guardians and and civil war threatening to break the land in

regents, was now a vicious and ruthless king who two he made a decision – he needed the wealth

was not afraid to wipe her from the land and from that Alexandrian taxes would give him and the

history. He completely erased his sister’s name only way of increasing taxes was to establish

from all official documents and backdated his stability in the city; the sibling rivalry had to end.

monarchy, claiming sole rule since his father’s He summoned Cleopatra and Ptolemy to appear

death. With her popularity and reputation already before him.

in tatters, the disgraced queen fled from the city This was easy for Ptolemy who swiftly

of her birth before an angry mob could storm the journeyed to Alexandria, but Cleopatra would

FIVE MYTHS palace and inflict upon her the same have to use all her cunning just to make it
UNRAVELLED
grisly fate as so many of her greedy into the city alive. With the harbour
She was smuggled in a rug
and ill-fated predecessors. blocked by her brother’s ships, she
The image of a dishevelled and flushed
Cleopatra being unrolled from a Persian Having lost not only the slipped away from her troops
rug at Caesar’s feet after being smuggled into the
palace comes from the overzealous pen of Greek support of her people “With her skill, and travelled in a small
biographer Plutarch, but it’s difficult to prove this but also the land she so drive and cunning boat along the coast in the
happened. It seems unlikely that Caesar, one of strongly believed was hers dead of night. Her journey
the most powerful men in the world, would have
welcomed a suspicious package into his room and to rule, Cleopatra escaped she was perfect for had been completely
even if so, there’s no reason for her not to have to Syria with a small rule, she deserved and utterly unfitting for
emerged earlier and made a more elegant entrance. band of loyal supporters. a pharaoh of Egypt, a

She was a femme fatale Fuelled by outrage at her Egypt, and she Ptolemy queen; but victory
brother, and even more wasn’t going to demanded sacrifice and she
The idea that Cleopatra flittered between so at the advisors who had was confident the streets and
powerful men, wooing and manipulating
with no idea of who fathered her children, is crafted him into a vicious share it” waters she was smuggled down
the result of an ancient smear campaign run enemy, Cleopatra did not sink would soon be hers again. It had
against her by Roman officials. In fact there’s
only evidence of her having been with two men – into depression or abandon her been a challenge to make it into the
Caesar and Mark Antony.
ambitions, but set about building the palace district, but the real night’s work
She was Egyptian
army she would need to reclaim her throne. As was about to begin – she was about to go face to
One of the most famous Egyptian
pharaohs of all time wasn’t Egyptian at all the female pharaoh amassed her forces in Syria, face with arguably the most powerful man in the
– she was Greek. Her family line is that of Ptolemy,
one of the generals of Alexander the Great, and her young brother, barely 13 years old, became known world.
despite her family living in Egypt for over 300
years, she would have been regarded as Greek. distracted by the ever-pressing Roman civil war. Her brother would bend over backwards, slay
Cleopatra was actually rare in that she could speak
Egyptian, unlike many of her predecessors. After a humiliating defeat to Caesar in Pharsalus, Caesar’s enemies and kiss his feet for his support,

She wore a fake beard the Roman military leader Pompey the Great fled but he was quick to panic, eager to please and

The concept of female Egyptian queens to the one place he was assured he could find terrified of angering Rome. Her brother was a
sporting fake beards comes from the
Egyptian belief that the god Osiris had a grand refuge; his old ally, Egypt. fool. Caesar needed Egypt as much as Egypt
beard, prompting Egyptian pharaohs to do the
same to establish themselves as divine beings. But With his wife and children watching nervously needed Rome and she would use that fact to her
by the time of Cleopatra this tradition had all but
died out, and there’s no record of her donning a from afar Pompey disembarked his grand ship advantage. She would not wait to bow and scrape
fake beard. In fact, the only female pharaoh known
to have worn one is Hatshepsut. to board a small fishing boat to the shore. The and plead her case alongside a child, she was

She died from an asp bite Egyptian boy pharaoh, Ptolemy, sat on the shore going to speak to the Roman general that night.

This myth has gained momentum due to in a throne fashioned specifically for the occasion. She sneaked into the palace and found her way
paintings of Cleopatra holding a snake
to her bosom as she passes away. However, the He watched Pompey closely, his face guarded and into Caesar’s private chamber.
accounts of this event are in some doubt, mainly
because an asp will not cause a quick death as unreadable, but the men around him threw their
Cleopatra’s was reported to be. It is more likely
she drank a combination of poisons. The idea that arms open and, with wide smiles, cried, “Hail,
the asp bit her breast is certainly incorrect, as all
ancient sources state it bit her on the arm. commander!” It was not until the ship reached the

42 shore that Pompey realised the murderous web in

which he was entangled. Before he could cry out

he was ran through with a sword and stabbed over

and over again in the back. While the once-great

consul was decapitated and his mutilated

corpse thrown into the sea, Ptolemy

did not even rise from his throne.

The entire ceremony had been

a ruse; a rival of Caesar’s

was more valuable dead

than alive.

When Caesar

arrived in the harbour

of Alexandria four

days later, he was

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69 30 BCE

Cleopatra got her own
fleet of ships from Caesar

and later Mark Antony

43

CLEOPATRA’S RUTHLESS RISE TO POWER

A GODDESS
AMONG
MORTALS

After the birth of Caesarion, Cleopatra could of
finally rid herself of the irritating requirement
to have a male co-ruler and changed her image
from female king to that of divine mother.
This would have been eagerly adopted
by her Egyptian and Greek subjects who
were already very much aware of the most
famous and beloved mother in mythology
– Isis. With the Egyptian royalty already
firmly linked to divine beings it would not
take much effort for Cleopatra to portray
herself as a vision of the ideal queen,
wife and mother. She was quick to create
coins bearing her image with the suckling
Caesarion at her breast, an instantly
recognisable depiction of Isis, the mother
all. To further encourage the cult, she
dressed in the ceremonial robes of the
goddess and in 34 BCE she was given the
title ‘New Isis.’ The cult proved to be so
successful that to this day archaeologists
and historians struggle to distinguish
between statues of the Egyptian goddess,
and the queen who became her.

Isis

GODDESS OF HEALTH, MARRIAGE, LOVE
How powerful was she?
Isis was firmly associated with kingship and
was portrayed as the mother of pharaohs, as
well as capable of using magic strong enough to
defy death.
What’s her story?
Isis was the daughter of the god of Earth and goddess
of the sky, married her brother Osiris and became
mother of Horus. It was said that she resurrected
Osiris after he was murdered by Set, and this rebirth
was believed to manifest itself in the seasonal flooding
of the Nile, which was vital for Egypt’s survival. It
was celebrated every year in rituals and Isis became a
prominent and revered figure throughout Egypt.

The ‘dictator in perpetuity’ as he would come The young Ptolemy XIII awoke the next day, Egypt. The country they fought for would
pay the price, and in December of 48 BCE the
to be known in Rome towered over the small not expecting his dangerous older sister to have famous stone city of Alexandria was set alight,
destroying not only the lives of hundreds of
woman; she would have to crane her head to look even made it to the palace. When he discovered citizens, but also the world-famous library that
housed countless priceless manuscripts. When
him in the eye, she realised instantly. He was far that not only was she there, but had also seduced Caesar’s reinforcements poured into the city from
Pergamum Ptolemy’s forces were finally defeated.
older than the young, bold Egyptian queen Caesar overnight into joining her cause, it was The young and impetuous king tried to flee across
the Nile in an overcrowded boat but his vessel
and his receding hairline was poorly the final straw. Screaming in desperation sank, dragging him and his elaborate, heavy
golden armour down with it.
disguised. The general was past his he fled from the palace, tore his crown
One Ptolemy was dead, but another still lived.
physical prime, but he had just won from his head and fell to his knees. Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra’s 13-year-old brother,
became her husband and co-ruler immediately
his greatest victory. This was her His sister had done it again. She was after her brother’s death. She might have had
Caesar’s support, but tradition was still tradition
first time gazing upon the Roman completely and utterly impossible and a lone woman could not rule Egypt. As for
Caesar, he had put in place a reliable partnership
celebrity known the world over, but to get rid off and, even as the crowd and Egypt was, for all intents and purposes, a
Roman territory. In a lavish display of the new
this was also the first time he was surged forward in protest, Caesar could

facing her. Her brother was a child, not be swayed. The siblings would rule

a mere puppet pharaoh on strings, Cleopatra’s image on a Egypt together, just as their father had
dancing to the pulls of his corrupt silver coin intended. Rome had spoken.
advisors, but she had been granted
The apparent peace did not last long.

with all the charm, intelligence and Already poisoned by the ambitious

ambition of her forefathers. She would steal Caesar whispers that had fed his youth, Ptolemy joined

and Rome’s support while her brother slept; her with his rebellious sister Arsinoe IV. Between

charisma would succeed where her brother’s them they amassed an army large enough

sword had failed. to challenge Cleopatra and Caesar’s forces in

44

CLEOPATRA’S RUTHLESS RISE TO POWER

“Her charisma EGYPTIAN
would succeed EXPERT

where her Dr Joyce
brother’s sword Tyldesley teaches
Egyptology at
had failed” Manchester
University. She
LEFT Cleopatra was as much an has published a
A 19th-century intellectual and scholar as series of books
depiction of and articles on
Cleopatra on a passionate fighter ancient Egypt:
the Cydmus these include
Cleopatra, Last
union, a fleet of Roman and Egyptian ships sailed to Rome with her son and resided in Caesar’s Queen Of Egypt,
down the Nile accompanied by the grand royal country house as heated rumours about the which was a Radio
barge where Cleopatra and Caesar sat together. paternity of her son gained speed. She did little to 4 “Book of the Week.” Her most recent book,
squash them; a possible heir of Caesar was a very Tutankhamen’s Curse won the Felicia A Holton
Egypt and Rome were united, but Cleopatra powerful tool to have. Book Award from the Archaeological Institute
still found herself co-ruler to another Ptolemy of America.
who would inevitably grow up, ambitious and When Caesar was assassinated on 15 March
treacherous. She could not allow another brother 44 BCE, Cleopatra left Rome and returned to Was Cleopatra a good ruler?
to be swayed by advisors and driven against Alexandria. If there was ever a time to act, it was
her. As long as Ptolemy XIV lived, her rule was now. Without her powerful Roman lover by her This is a difficult question to answer, as it
threatened. She wasn’t a fool, she knew Egypt side she needed an ally who could assure her depends on the definition of ‘good’. I would
would never accept a solitary female queen, but rule, one who wasn’t going to lead a rebellion certainly argue she was an effective ruler; she
there was a technicality that would ensure her against her. Brothers, she had learned, could not inherited a country on the verge of bankruptcy
effective sole rule. Her partnership with Caesar be trusted. Later that year the youngest Ptolemy and, bringing a much-needed stability, ruled
had provided more than his political support, she was found dead, seemingly poisoned. The people’s for over 20 years. For a long time her personal
was pregnant and in 47 BCE gave birth. The gods’ grief was muted; the death of Ptolemies, however alliances with Rome protected her land against
will was in her favour – the child was a boy. She young, was not so uncommon in Egypt, and invasion. Compared to many of the earlier
named him Caesarion, or ‘Little Caesar’, and now besides, the people had a new pharaoh to replace Ptolemies she was indeed a good ruler, and it
had an heir. For three years Cleopatra tightened him, the young Caesarion. Cleopatra had finally is difficult to think of a contemporary Ptolemy
her grip on the Egyptian throne, slowly winning done it, she was Egypt’s pharaoh and with her son who could have done a better job.
the love of the Alexandrian mobs that had an infant she was ruling alone in all but name. The
previously screamed for her head. She travelled power of Egypt was hers. What do you believe drove
Cleopatra’s actions?

Cleopatra was born a member of the Ptolemaic
royal family and like all her siblings, she felt
she had a right to rule Egypt. So her actions
were less a ruthless quest for power and more
an assertion of her god-given right to rule.

Why do you think people are still
fascinated by Cleopatra today?

Cleopatra has all the ingredients we seem to
like in an ancient world celebrity: fabulous
wealth, power, and if not beauty, the ability to
bend powerful men to her will. Her dramatic
and still not entirely explained death simply
adds to her mystique.

Is there a side to Cleopatra that
you believe has been ignored in
modern depictions of her?

Two things; first, in the western historical
tradition we tend to underestimate her
intelligence, seeing her as a woman very
much ruled by her heart rather than her head.
This is because we draw our history from the
Romans. Arab scholars have preserved the
memory of a very different Cleopatra; a queen
who was first and foremost a scholar.

Secondly, we often overlook the fact that
she was a mother to four children. This,
to Cleopatra, was extremely important; it
influenced her decisions and linked her very
closely to the Egyptian goddess Isis, mother of
the god Horus.

45

19 MYTHS BUSTED: JOAN OF ARC

JEANNE D’ARC

French, 1412 1431
Joan of Arc was

a peasant girl living

Brief in France during the
Bio Hundred Years’ War.

She believed God
wished her to lead the French
army to victory and expel the
English. Her military successes
and subsequent execution
have led her to become a
national figure in France and
a celebrated martyr in the
Catholic Church.

46

19 MYTHS BUSTED

JOAN
ARCOF
Unravel 19 – one for every year of her life – mistruths,

legends and myths about the peasant girl who led

France’s armies and became a worldwide icon

Joan of Arc is a name that is known Written by Frances White reliable and insightful information about the
worldwide. Upheld as a saint in the woman who lived in the 15th century. These
Catholic Church, a national hero in and certainly not by the Inquisition. She also transcripts provide a very different image of
France and an inspiration to those didn’t win the Hundred Years’ War and, while Joan, a soft-spoken, pious girl who wept for
facing adversity, her tale of heroism and we’re at it, she wasn’t even all that rebellious. her enemies and wished more than anything
sacrifice has transcended time and entered The image of the ferocious, cross-dressing to return to her quiet, farming life. This true
into legend. The story of the young rebellious warrior Joan we have today is the one her image of a girl who was not naturally violent,
teen who defeated the English army in the enemies used to damn her to execution. but instead showed great courage in the face
Hundred Years’ War before being burned to of immense fear and adversity, is perhaps
death by the Inquisition for being a witch It’s only natural for historical figures to pick even more inspiring than the warrior
has been retold countless times. But just how up some misconceptions and myths along goddess she’s painted to be. Read on as we
accurate is this portrayal? She was indeed the way, but in Joan’s case the sheer amount strip away the myths and reveal the true
burned at the stake, but not for being a witch of inaccuracies in the face of hard evidence heroine as she really was.
is overwhelming. Ironically, it is the notaries
of the trials that tried to wipe her off the
planet who have provided us with the most

47

19 MYTHS BUSTED: JOAN OF ARC

Her execution While pretending to be Joan,
was faked Jeanne des Armoises visited

In 1436, five years after Joan was burned the Princess Elizabeth of
at the stake, a strange, unexpected figure Luxembourg and went on
appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Her
alleged identity caught the attention of several pilgrimages
the whole of France – she claimed she
was Joan of Arc and that she had escaped Joan was hardly
her execution. There had been plenty of the miraculously
women claiming to be the famous Joan of gifted horse rider she’s
Arc before, but this woman bore a striking painted to be; she learned
resemblance to the young warrior and, to ride as she conducted her
most convincing of all, Joan’s own brothers, mission, and was placed
Jean and Pierre, were with her and attested with the slowest
to the truth of her tale. This ‘Joan’ claimed riders in battle.
she had managed to flee her captors and
lived in obscurity for years. The tale caught TO DO:
the attention of the nation, and the three
travelled around France, were bestowed Chase sinful women
with lavish gifts and even visited Joan’s old out of camp
comrades, who consistently identified her
as the woman they believed to have lost Return to mother
five years prior. and father

It was during her visit to the French Sew a new dress
King Charles VII in 1440, the man she had Practise weaving
helped to put on the throne in 1429, that Milk the cows
the lie was unravelled. The king apparently Dust the house
asked ‘Joan’ to tell him the secret she had Help mother with the
told him many years prior; the woman
was unable to answer and confessed her spinning
treachery, revealing herself to be a woman
named Jeanne des Armoises. The idea of
the real Joan of Arc escaping her execution
can be disproved by the sheer amount
of eyewitnesses at her execution. The
English were so worried that people would
attest that she escaped that they made
the executioner push the fire back so all
present could see her charred corpse.

She was a feminist

The reasons for Joan’s feminist pastimes of sewing, weaving camp followers, and there are
status today are fairly obvious – a and cleaning. Her most boastful even accounts of her chasing
young girl leaving home to lead comments were not about her them off with a sword – hardly
armies of men at the height of ability to lead men, but her skill the actions of an ambassador for
one of the biggest conflicts in in besting any woman with a female rights. Joan’s quest was
Europe – but by today’s standards needle and spindle. When she first and foremost to put a man on
Joan would be the opposite of was directly questioned about the throne of France, and she led
a feminist. The young warrior’s why she wasn’t doing more not women into battle, but men.
favourite hobbies were not “womanly duties” she simply Hardly rocking the foundations
disobeying authority and fighting replied that other women were of gender roles, she was rather
for justice with a sword, but the already doing them. She was reinforcing the tradition that men,
far more traditionally feminine also known to loathe the female not women, should be in power.

48

A jar of alleged relics of Joan
of Arc consisting of a human
rib, linen and wood have since

been proven to have come
from an Egyptian mummy

Joan was a
rebellious child

Throughout history rebellious teen girls permission. She approached her mission
have frequently been compared to with some reluctance and consistently
Joan of Arc, with the young saint being expressed a desire to return home to
portrayed as a devil-may-care rebel who her parents. The most damning evidence
disobeyed her parents to lead armies. against her rebellious personality is the
The French icon was quite the opposite; fact that the prosecution made the
quiet, pious, dedicated to her family very same claim against her in trial, but
and diligent, with the most rebellious were forced to retract the accusation
action attributed to her young years upon finding absolutely no evidence to
going off to visit local churches without substantiate it.

The Catholic Church
wanted her dead

The notion that the Catholic Church Similar can be said about the theory Joan witnessed the raiding
personally hunted Joan down seems that she was Protestant, and she even and burning of Domrémy,
to be coupled with the idea she was threatened to lead a crusade against the her home village
either Protestant or guilty of witchcraft, Hussites (an early Protestant group) if
which are both absurd theories. Not they didn’t convert to Catholicism. The
only is there not a shred of evidence Catholics present at the trial were led
to support her allegiance to Wicca (a not by some epic religious quest, but by
pagan religion) in any way, but when their own personal political allegiances to
Joan was asked about this at the trial her the English. Most of the Catholic clergy
answers proved not only contempt for actually supported Joan and she was
pagan practises, but also that she had upheld as a ‘true Catholic’ before she
no real idea what they actually were. began her campaign.

She was a great military tactician

Joan, a naïve 17-year-old peasant girl, 4. End of the siege 1. Assault on St Loup
certainly showed immense bravery
riding into battle alongside seasoned France finally victorious France fights back
warriors, but she was no military
genius. In fact, Joan’s rash actions and The English abandon the siege and their northern The count of Dunois attacks the Eastern
reckless decisions proved more than troops assemble in a field near St Laurent. The English bastille of St Loup. 140 English are
once to be a dangerous addition to French army stands against them and they stare each killed with 40 more taken as prisoners. An
the French army. For example, upon other down for an hour before the English withdraw. attempt by the English to distract attention
approaching Orléans she insisted the with an attack on the north of Orléans fails.
English should be attacked from the 2. Augustines assault English forces
north as that was where their greatest French forces 3. Tourelles attacked
numbers lay. The commanders were The assault continues
so against this potentially disastrous Joans leads from the front
strategy that they took the convoy on The French set their sights on the south bank. Joan
a different route without telling Joan. leads an assault on the bastille of the Augustines, Joan leads an assault on the English
When the attack did happen, Joan was and it falls into French hands. stronghold known as Boulevart. The
napping and nearly missed the entire French rush up the ladders and force
battle. When the young warrior acted of the English out, who flee. The French
her own accord and tried to attack the follow them and nearly 1,000 English
stronghold of Boulevart, she narrowly soldiers perished in the attack, and the
escaped disaster and had to be dragged Tourelles is set aflame.
off the field amid mass panic. After this
she was asked to sit out on the assault 49
the next day, a request she ignored.

Joan was Men’s clothing
forced to wear were her garments
men’s clothes
when she of choice
was given no
female clothes The vision of Joan of Arc swapping her dresses
to wear in for trousers and armour at the first opportunity
prison is a common one, and it was the act of wearing

male clothes that she was finally executed The French people
for. But she did not wear boys’ clothing from were angry about
her death
preference, but rather as a necessity – first
to enable her to ride a horse with more Today Joan is uphold as a national hero and martyr,
but at the time many of the citizens of France were
ease and later to protect herself from the more likely to celebrate her death than mourn it.
many rape attempts she faced. Not only For the English, the death of the mascot of the
did Joan happily wear a dress for the 17 French forces was an important boon, and they
years of her life before she embarked on openly rejoiced at the news of her execution.
Those who supported Joan and Charles VII would
her journey, but she also begged to be have taken the news with sadness, but there was
buried in a dress if she died in prison. no mass mourning, and the royal court didn’t
recognise her death. It took years for France to
revoke the trial sentence and embrace Joan as
the figure she is today. After her innocence was
declared, she gradually became a legendary figure
for the four centuries after her death, and was used
as a political symbol by Napoleon in the early-19th
century. To date, there have been over 20 statues
created in her honour, countless paintings, operas,
films and even French Navy ships named after her.

The French victory in the Hundred

Years’ War was thanks to Joan

The war at a glance Although there is no denying Joan’s between individual conflicts of the war
presence helped lift the siege of Orléans, allowed the French army to gather its
leading to the crowning of Charles strength and become a fierce, organised
VII, it would be incorrect to attest the force. The English army were faced
ultimate French victory to her. Not only with severe funding issues and became
was Joan executed 20 years before the distracted with conflict back at home
final battle at Castillon, but several other that led to the War of the Roses, so the
important factors led to the eventual French campaign became unfeasible.
French victory. The period of the war While Joan certainly inspired nationalism
was a transition period for France, as among a dejected army, the intricacies of
the country developed from a medieval the war are far too varied and complex
feudal system to a modern state with to place the victory solely on one brave
a professional army. The long periods woman with a banner.

1346

● Battle of Crécy ● Battle of Poitiers ● Treaty of Brétigny ● Battle of Agincourt ● Treaty of Troyes ● Siege of Orléans ● Battle of Castillon

Edward III’s English The English forces King John II and After English king Henry It is agreed that Henry French and English forces English forces capture

troops decimate the raiding their way through King Edward III’s V claims the French will inherit the throne battle over possession of Bordeaux. In response,

French forces by utilising the French countryside, treaty hands over throne, he leads his of France upon the Orléans, which holds great King Charles VII attacks

new weapons and finally meet resistance much French land forces to northern death of Charles VI. strategic advantage. The tide the English forces and

military tactics. This in King John II of France, to England, under France. Despite being This agreement goes turns when Joan of Arc enters defeats them. The

victory allows the English but the battle sees the duress that outnumbered, the English on to prompt the later the city. Nine days after her battle results in the loss

army to besiege and the English destroy Edward renounces forces defeat and cripple stages of the war, with arrival, the siege collapses and of all English land in

claim the town of Calais the French forces and all claims to the the French army, leading many English kings France claim their first major France except for the

as English territory. capture the French king. French throne. to a new period of war. claiming the throne. victory for many years. Pale of Calais.

26 August 1346 19 September 1356 25 May 1360 25 October 1415 21 May 1420 12 Oct 1428 – 8 May 1429 17 July 1453

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